Gift Or Torture?
by Eveil Woman
Summary: Tom and Draco abandoned Ginny. She was taught never to trust a Vampire, never mind one called the God of War. As her life takes her places she never planned on, can she find happiness with Jasper? And why is Jasper not wanting to drain her dry? As Ginny life comes to an end, can Leah find happiness with her imprint Severus Snape?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- I assume that if your reading this story you have some idea of both story lines of these books. I'm not going to spend time rewritten other authors work. If I change a fact I will write it into the story line. The only fact I'm changing at this point is that both sets of books happen at about the same time ending about in the year 2009. **

**Gift Or Torture?**

**Prologue**

**Ginny's Point of View**

I sat looking out the window of the plane; yes, airplane! A Muggle form of transportation. I'm flying across the Atlantic Ocean and I'm going to live in a city called Edmonton. I will be there for several months and a friend is taking me. Until a couple of weeks back, I never would have called him a friend. He was not even someone I ever trusted; Severus Snape.

Two weeks back, everything changed for me. I had gone to tell my boyfriend some news. I was happy and I thought we were going to be together forever.

"Draco, I have something to tell you," I said. We were sitting in the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade.

"What's that?" he replied coolly.

His cold demeanor didn't bother me. I was used to it; it was part of who he was. "I just found out yesterday that I'm pregnant."

His face remained still as he asked, "And who's the lucky father?"

I thought he was joking. "You, of course," I replied with a chuckle.

He raised an eyebrow. "Me? So let me guess, Ginny; you thought I would jump at the chance to marry you and we would live happily ever after." He paused for a second. "I couldn't marry you even if I wanted to. You're nothing but a pathetic blood traitor! Take some advice, because that's all you're going to get from me; get rid of this problem!" He then rose and walked out, leaving me with the bill.

I was in shock. I thought that Draco and I were the modern day Romeo and Juliet. I didn't even realize I was crying until a sob escaped, then there was a handkerchief being handed to me.

Professor Snape took the seat Draco had vacated moments before. He didn't give me a minute to compose myself. "You made a mistake," he stated.

"Thanks for pointing that out," I replied. I was finished with school, so Snape had no power over me. "I don't need your criticism. I got enough of that in school!" I snapped.

"I didn't mean to offend you." He looked at me for a long moment before continuing, "What are you going to do?"

I was shocked by the question. I think that's why I started talking to him. "I don't know; no one even knew we were seeing each other. I'm not ready to have a baby by myself."

"You still have time to decide what you want to do, but here are a few things to keep in mind. Members of Draco's family have, in the past, tried to kill you simply for looking at things differently than them. You now are expecting a Malfoy, who by all rights could lay claim to everything they have. As long as you are carrying that child, you both are at risk. Now that Draco knows, I'm relatively sure he won't want to tell Lucius, so you need to decide if you want to keep the baby, or get rid of it. The sooner, the better!"

"I could never kill it!" I said, horrified.

"Then you're going to keep it?" He asked.

"I'm - I don't - I'm not ready to be a single parent!" I realized.

"You could give it away," he offered.

"Who would want a child whose father's whole family were Death Eaters?"

Snape smiled; he literally had a gleam in his eye as he spoke, "A Muggle family who has no idea of the past war. It's also the perfect revenge on him."

Snape was right! Over the next week, he and I talked. I wasn't ready to tell my family yet. Merlin, I wasn't sure if I would ever be ready, so Snape offered me an out. He had explained that over the years he knew Voldemort would return and that he wanted other choices than the two we all knew of. He had purchased an apartment in Canada and had things set up to start a life there. He now was planning on going there to take some time away from our world and figure out what he wanted to do. He was willing to let me come with him and live there until I had the baby and was ready to return.

I took him up on his offer. I told my family I was going to live as a Muggle for a year to have a better understanding of them. Dad was proud of me, Mum was concerned for me, and my brothers? Well, they all have lives of their own.

A couple of weeks of planning took place. I was going to take some courses in human behavior at the university, giving my parents my claim of trying to understand Muggles better. There was some truth in that.

Snape claimed that there were a couple of programs in place for this type of thing, and it was true. Those of us who would have to deal with Muggles needed stuff like this, so I packed up my stuff and now I sit on this plane.

**Gift or Torture?**

**Chapter One**

**Four Months Later **

**Ginny's Point of View**

I sat in a back stairwell at the university, crying, I had finally found a good family to adopt the baby, but I had just found out that Mary, the wife, was killed on a ski trip she and her husband Paul had taken. Paul no longer wanted to adopt my baby. I was back to square one in finding a family to love my child! I was mad! Why couldn't things just work out the way I wanted them to?

I thought I heard the door open a couple of floors up from where I was sitting, however there was no sound on the stairs. After a second, I heard a voice, "Ma'am? Are you all right?"

I looked up and saw a man looking down at me. He towered over me. He had a look of concern on his face, and looking up at him, I truly believed he cared. He was incredibly handsome! His hair was a warm honey blond and his caring eyes were topaz. However, there were dark shadows under his eyes; it reminded me of how I looked without a couple of beauty charms during a lot of the time my first year at Hogwarts.

"Um, yes, I just got some bad news," I replied.

He looked at me for what seemed like forever.

**Jasper's Point of View**

I had felt someone's sadness, and it was one of the strongest things I have ever felt, including the fear a human would feel once they realized I was about to kill them. As I walked toward the staircase, it was like it grew stronger and more intense. When I found the source of the feelings, I tried to understand why she would be feeling as she was.

"Ma'am, are you all right?" I asked. She looked up at me and I was surprised at how pretty she was. Her hair was the color of blood; there was no other way to describe it. Her eyes were a soft, warm brown, and it looked as if cinnamon had been dusted over her nose. She was very petite. As I was taking in her appearance, I also noted a second heart beat. She was expecting.

"Um, yes, I just got some bad news."

"Is there someone I can call for you?" I asked. I wanted to help.

She shook her head. "Thank you, but no, there's no one."

"Are you sure?" I asked. I then felt pride radiating off of her as she slowly rose.

"Yes, I'm sure. I just had a moment of weakness. No biggie; it kind of goes with the territory." She pointed to her stomach. "Thank you for your concern." She then reached down and grabbed her bag. I don't know why, but I didn't want her to go; not yet. "Do you want somebody to talk to?"

She shook her head. "I learned at a young age that talking about my feelings to attractive men was very bad for my health." She then walked away.

Where did her last comment come from? I quickly reviewed our interaction and the feelings I picked up from her; at first, she was upset, then embarrassed, then a little self pity, then pride, and finally shame. She didn't give off any fear of me, like I was used to from humans. This was a puzzle.

I didn't see her again until after the semester break. She was registered in one of my classes. I felt her emotions before I even smelled her. I normally could feel another vampire's emotions more clearly without trying in a room full of people. It was almost like she was calling me.

I admit I wanted to sit next to her. However, I instead chose to sit on the other side of the room. I did watch her the whole class, though. She was very interested in the subject matter, but she looked uncomfortable. I guessed it was because she was expecting. My sister was the only pregnant human I have ever been around, and her pregnancy was far from normal.

We were taking Psychology, and I wondered who would be the first in the class to believe that there was something wrong with them. As the professor finished up his remarks, something he said caught my attention. "For your final paper, I'm trying something different. I'm assigning each of you a subject, one of your classmates. You will write a paper about their psychology, and they about yours. How you make your observations is up to you. I'm not forcing you to become friends. You may decide to do your whole paper based only on what you see here in class. Each of you will be given a name, and it's up to you to find out who that person is. However, you are paired up, meaning you will be writing about the person writing about you."

Lovely! This would be a real acting job on my part. Someone watching me closely; great! Well, hopefully a human natural fear would kick in and they would decide to analyze me from afar. If not, I could just send them some extra fear. Not draining them was fine, spending time in class or even working in a group was something I could deal with, but why run the risk by spending time alone with them?

I still don't understand how my brother Edward did it with Bella; not that Bella isn't perfectly nice or anything. I love her as a sister now. I, more than anyone, knew how her blood had called to him. The amount of want he had for it was almost unbearable. I, myself, have had enough pain in my life I didn't need to inflict it upon myself.

At the end of class, we were each handed a piece of paper with our subject's name on it. I looked down at the paper;

_Ginevra Weasley_

Great, a girl! A guy would have been easier for me. Over half the girls in the class came over asking me if I was the person they had. I could feel the lust, hope, and fear dripping off of them.

I, however, watched her. I still didn't know her name, but I was receiving a mixture of emotions from her as she had received her piece of paper.

**Ginny's POV **

_Jasper Hale_ was the name I received. I looked up at the class and wondered who it was. I was able to eliminate a few people whom I already knew. I decided I would let this person find me; I wouldn't seek them out. In spite of myself, I scanned my classmates once more and was surprised to see the god from over a month ago in the stairwell.

For a second, our eyes met. There was a look that could best be described as confusion on his beautiful face. Something told me to run from him or at the very least grab my wand, but something else in me wanted to go to him.

I looked him up and down, and something about him screamed money. I guess it was the clothing; it looked expensive. That made me think of Draco.

I was over Draco. The only thing I felt now was shame. Shame for my own stupidity. I should have known better than to trust him or to believe in him. Looking back now, I know I was only something he USED, something to entertain himself with. I knew that of all the notches on his bed post, I was the greatest, but that was all I was. I mean, for him to have had me was a huge one-up on Harry and that for him to use me as he had was his way of reinforcing the idea that he was better than us Weasleys. I knew that I was the one thing that would always put a smug smile on his face.

The whole way back to the apartment I shared with Professor Snape, I thought about Draco to the point that I almost missed my subway stop. However, once off the subway, I thought about the final assignment.

How do I let someone get close enough to analyze me and not have them begin to wonder about me? I'm sure I wouldn't be called normal. Just being a witch; never mind being pregnant, or having been possessed by the Dark Lord, or now living with her former professor. And the worst was I was beginning to like Severus as a human being! That alone most likely meant I should be locked up! Harry and Ron would tell me that in a second.

The next day I arrived a couple of minutes early to class. The only other student there was the stairwell god. I did give him a small smile and he smiled in return. After a couple of seconds he spoke, "I was surprised to find you taking this course."

"Why is that?" I asked warily. I was expecting to hear how I wasn't the type to take courses like this.

"I guessed you to just be one of those random people you never see more than once," he replied.

"Oh!" I was surprised.

"I'm Jasper."

Was he my partner? I wondered. "Ginny," I offered.

"Would that by chance be short for Ginevra?" he asked.

I was shocked! It's almost never pronounced correctly. "I guess we found our assignments." I smiled at him. Then others started gathering in the hall with us. A few more girls came up and asked hopefully if he was theirs. Once we were let in to the classroom, I found my seat from the day before. I was still trying to decide how I wanted to do this assignment.

**J.P.O.V.**

I spent the class watching her. She was quite pretty, but her emotions held me spellbound. I can get overwhelmed by others' emotions at times. Some human once described me as looking as if I was in constant pain. I was, but not because of my lust for blood however. It's because of the number of emotions hitting me all the time. While her emotions were stronger than average to me, they were almost like a breath of fresh air. This confused me. By the end of the class I decided to speak with her again.

I made my way to her. "Ginny?"

She smiled warmly at me. "Jasper."

"I was thinking we should at least talk a bit about the assignment. Do you want to go for-" I tried to remember what young people drank these days. I never paid much attention before. I did of course know that alcohol was out.

She gave a soft laugh. "Men! You can cross the ocean and you're all the same. I could go for a herbal tea."

I didn't realize that I knew so little about today's young people til this moment. A small part of me thought that maybe, just maybe, I should spend a little time with the 'dog' and pick up a few more human things. "Sounds good. I just know that someone in your condition can be quite picky about what you put in your body."

Twenty minutes later, we were sitting in a tea house she claimed was not far from her apartment. We decided to talk about our backgrounds.

"I come from a big family; I'm the youngest of seven, all the rest are overprotective boys. So I guess there's the 'baby of the family' stuff."

"Six brothers! That must be hard on the father of your baby," I mused.

"He's not in the picture; in fact, I haven't told my family. I'm here to find a family for my baby, have it, and give it up for adoption."

I could feel the regret coming off of her. I wanted to make it better for her. "You don't want to give up the child?"

"A little, I guess. I mean, I did play a role in getting like this, but I'm not ready to be a parent. A single parent! I worry the baby will be hurt by my actions," she admitted.

"Don't be. My twin sister and I were adopted. What is important is that the baby feels loved."

"Really?" She was surprised. "They adopted both of you?"

"Well, it's not like you're thinking. We were adopted by our mother's sister and her husband after our parents were killed in a fire."

"That's horrible! How old were you?" she asked.

"Fifteen."

"They were good to you then? The parents of one of my friends were murdered and he was raised by an aunt and uncle who were horrible to him!"

"No, Esme and Carlisle were, are, very good to us. Esme is unable to have children of her own." I related the old lie that had been used so many times over the years.

I found her quite easy to talk with, even if I got the feeling she wasn't telling me a number of things! But there were things I wasn't telling her. Her emotions were so fascinating to me that I found I wasn't thinking about killing her. I already knew I was going to speak with the others about the effect she was having on me.

For the first time in my life I found that not only did I not think about draining her, but I was disappointed at the idea of her leaving.

"Well Jasper Hale, it has been lovely talking with you, but this chair is bloody murder on my back! I need to head home and lie down," she explained in that lovely, sexy, British accent she had as she rubbed her lower back.

"Yes, of course." I rose with her, timing myself to match her, pulled out my wallet and tossed a twenty dollar bill on the table, and then led her out. This action caused a new emotion to come to the surface: frustrated resignation. It left me a little baffled.

"Well, thank you for the tea. I guess I'll see you in class," she said coolly.

She had been warm and friendly up to now. I wanted to know the reason for the sudden change in her mood. "If you want someone to study with, let me know."

She gave a weak smile. "Sure."

She turned to go left. "Ginny, how are you getting home?" I asked, concerned.

"My building is just down the road a couple of blocks. I'll be fine."

During daylight hours, this area of the city was perfectly safe, but after the normal 9-5 business hours it wasn't the best part of town for a lady to be alone in. "I would feel better driving you or walking with you, even."

"Jasper, I grew up with six older brothers; seven if you count Harry. I assure you I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. Trust me, if you had the smallest clue about me or my life you wouldn't be concerned." Her voice was now laced with malice.

For how quickly her mood had changed, I would have guessed she was PMSing if I didn't have evidence to the contrary. I only nodded and then watched as she walked away.

Later that evening, I went to Carlisle's study. "Can I talk to you?" I never received anything from him that made me feel as though he cared less about me or Alice than any of the the others.

"Of course," he said and closed the book he was holding.

"For my Psychology class, we're going to have to analyze another classmate, and this assignment is meant as our final assignment for the term. We were assigned partners, so today I had tea with mine. Things that were unexpected happened," I paused. "I ran into her before we were in this class, about a month back. I was surprised at how strongly I felt her emotions, but at the time I put it off thinking that maybe it had to do with the fact that she is expecting. Today at tea I didn't think once about drinking her; it was like her emotions were controlling me."

His hands were folded as he listened to me. "And this concerns you?"

"I don't understand it. She is expecting, yet still very attractive, and her hair is the color of blood! At one point she made a comment about her chair being 'bloody murder' and I didn't even flinch. I thought more about making love to her than killing her."

"Perhaps you reached a plateau," he offered.

I shook my head. "I don't think so. The very next human I saw caused my throat to burn like always. I was even looking for a reason to spend more time with her," I admitted.

"Jasper, your gift is extraordinary. I don't know what to say, other than don't get too comfortable with this lack of want you had with her. Maybe there's something there that put you off to her, like her smell or something you're not aware of. Don't expect it to be the same each time you see her. I think it could be very bad if you were caught off guard."


	2. Appearances May Be Deceiving

**Gift Or Torture?**

**Chapter 2**

**Appearances May Be Deceiving**

**GPOV**

He seemed nice, and then he had to go and show that he was just like Draco! Money is SO important! Not only did he assume that I expected him to pay, but leaving a tip bigger than the bill! I fumed all the way home. I decided I would spend the evening looking at the albums the adoption agency sent me. I need to find a family to love my baby!

I walked into the apartment and placed my keys on the table that was next to the door. I never would have guessed that Professor Snape had any taste, but when I first arrived I was shocked by the beauty of this apartment. We were on the 20th floor and had a wonderful view of the river valley. The three bedroom apartment was big and done in earth tones, giving the place a warm feel. The furniture in the living room was a sandy brown color with sage green pillows and rust colored accents. All the wood in the room was a golden honey color, and even the art work on the walls fit in nicely.

Tonight, sitting and waiting in the living room, was Severus. He looked like he was about to call me out on a poorly done potion. "Where have you been?" he sneered

"I was having tea with a classmate," I explained.

"Do you have no consideration? It's after nine, and I had no idea where you were!"

I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. Severus had decided that he needed to take a protective role with regards to me. It was rather endearing; however, I knew better than to comment on it. "I'm sorry, I didn't think you would be home," I lied "Next time why don't you call?"

"I tried, but it seems you forgot to turn on your cellphone again. What is the point of having one if you never use it?" he fumed.

"You're right, I'm sorry. Anyway, I was hoping for your advice about something." I had learned that the best way to avoid an argument with him was to make him feel as if you needed his mind for something. Don't ask for help; just another opinion, a different way to look at something.

"What would that be on?" he asked.

"We have already been given our final assignment in my psychology course. We have to analyze a classmate and how they deal with this course. I'm worried that because I'm not normal, by Muggle standards, that the person who is looking at me will realize something's up."

"Ginevra, I hate to tell you this, but you are not normal even by wizard standards."

"I know I'm a little fucked up," she admitted.

"Not quite; however, you do seem to have a death wish," he teased.

When we first came over here, I would get offended by comments like this. Not any longer.

"You are messed up. Your time with the..." he paused.

"With Tom," she finished.

He nodded at me, then continued, "did leave you a little...off. And then there was the wizard war. Well, I wouldn't say anything unless you're asked straight out. Then just claim that you were molested,"

"You mean tell the truth?"

"What?" He was now mad.

"It's nothing," I claimed.

"Ginevra," he began.

"No, I mean, I don't remember it at all. It wasn't till years later that I realized what happened." He had come over to me and pulled me to the sofa.

"What happened?" he gently pushed.

"I don't know for sure. I remember waking up from one of the many blackouts once and I didn't feel right. Later, I found some blood in my knickers. I thought that I had started my period for the first time. However, I was wrong. It wasn't till a few years later when other girls started having sex that I began to think that maybe something had happened. Then, when I didn't experience things, like the pain from my first time, I knew that Tom had done something."

"You never told anyone?"

"No. What would the point have been?"

He nodded. "As I said, just say you were molested, and then say you would rather not talk about it. That should be enough for someone to explain anything odd."

Why was I so open and honest with him? I think it's because I quickly realized that he did care, but he didn't overreact like my family.

I knew it would be better to stay away from Jasper for a bit. I didn't really want to have to lie to him, or anyone. After that first year at Hogwarts, I really wasn't that big on lying. I knew that I would have to spend time with him, but I planned on keeping it to a minimum. I didn't need a new best friend.

The days passed and Jasper seemed to be thinking the same thing. However, he did greet me each day. A week after having tea, he came up to me. "Hello, Ginny." His voice was so smooth.

"Good afternoon," I said, I was distracted; I have a meeting with a couple who were looking to adopt. My mind was on them.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm fine." I wasn't really paying attention to him.

"Ginny, you seen distracted. Is everything alright?"

I looked at him, knowing I gave all the right responses. He looked like he honestly cared. "Sorry, I just have a meeting with a couple tonight."

He looked like he was trying to figure something out. "I don't know what to say." He paused, "Are you looking forward to it?"

I sighed. "You know that day we first met in the stairwell? I had a couple whom I was happy with all picked out. I liked them, and the wife, Mary, had just been killed in a skiing accident. The husband didn't feel it was the best time for a child to enter his life."

"So you feel like you're picking second best?"

"No, second best will never do for this baby! The father wanted me to kill it, but I'm not the kind of person who could do that just because it wasn't convenient for me."

Something flashed across his face for a second, but it was too fast for me to figure it out.

I sat in the living room of a lovely home. It was big and new. The furniture was all cream in color and the rug was white. The couple themselves were both very slim, with lots of muscle tone. The wife had black hair and she looked perfect, meaning that her clothing was perfectly pressed. The husband had brown hair and perfect teeth. There was the smell of bread baking when I entered. They had shown me around their home, and now they were grilling me about my medical history and anything and everything I knew about the baby's father. I was pretty sure these people were a NO, but I was trying to give them a chance. The woman with the agency pointed out to me that sometimes couples would try too hard.

"So the father, does he have good teeth?" the wife asked.

That was it. "I'm sorry, I don't think you're the right people for my baby!" I stood up and left the place.

I'd be damned if I was going to let someone raise my baby when they made me feel like they were doing me a favor!

As I walked away from their home, I pulled out my cellphone to call Severus to pick me up. Unfortunately, I got no answer. Great! I started to cry. What was I going to do if I couldn't find a family for this baby? How would my family react to me returning with a little miniature Draco Malfoy?

I wasn't going to stand outside of those people's house crying, so I began to walk. I headed for the bus stop.

The next day, Jasper was as always waiting outside of the classroom when I arrived. He nodded at me as soon as I saw him. As I got closer he spoke, "I take it it didn't go well?"

"Well? Well? It went horrible! I felt like if I was lucky they might think about taking the baby. Once I had enough, I left. They live almost in the middle of nowhere. I had to wait an hour for a bus, then it took an hour and a half to get home!" I paused in my rant. "How could you tell?"

"It was written all over your face," he stated.

"That readable, huh?"

**A/N- I know this chapter was SHORT , but I want to keep it to one point of view per chapter, with only a couple of exceptions. This story BTW unlike like most other crossovers I have looked at is totally finished totaling 138 pages. However I do have to wait for my Beta to edit each chapter. **


	3. Background Check

**Gift Or Torture?**

**Chapter Three**

**Background Check**

**JPOV**

Sweetie, I don't have to read you; you're broadcasting like no one ever has. "Yes, your face gives it all away."

Her emotions were so fascinating to me that I found I wasn't thinking about killing her. I already knew I was going to speak with the others about the effect she was having on me.

For the first time in my life, I found that not only did I not think of draining her, but also I was disappointed at the idea of her leaving.

She was wearing an emerald green shirt dress and black leggings, with her hair pulled back but tied loosely. She looked radiant; I guessed it was her state of expectancy. Standing only a yard away from her I could smell her blood, but my throat wasn't burning. I took in the smell of her blood, trying to figure out if there was something wrong with her or if she was sick or something. There was something there, and it was slightly familiar, but it wasn't something that had been unappealing before. Her scent was pleasant.

"You must be the unluckiest guy ever. I mean, getting me for this assignment, I don't think anyone else could be a bigger mess."

I could feel her pain and regret. It was intense, clearer than anything I had ever felt. Clear like a small child sweetly asking for something in the most attention getting way. The way it held me was much like how we can hold a human's attention when we dazzle them. I would do anything to remain here in her presence.

"Why would you say that?" I asked.

She smiled at me. "The baggage I have," she replied.

"We all have baggage. Why don't we talk after class?" I asked as I saw the door to our classroom open.

She shrugged and then slipped into the room, but I felt concern, want, fear, excitement, and more regret coming from her. The fear was her natural instinct, the want and excitement were also not unexpected. However, the concern and regret were a puzzle to me.

I followed her into the class and took the seat next to hers. The whole class I waited for my blood lust to overtake me, for it to become too much for me. After class I asked, "The tea house again?"

She bit her lip. "'Kay. Don't read anything into this because all it is is, well… sitting in an upright position for long periods of time is quite uncomfortable for me. Would you mind coming to my place? I mean, Severus will most likely be there, but I would be more comfortable," she explained her reasoning to me. I could feel that she was being sincere.

I hadn't allowed myself to be with a human for many years; once one was alone with them it was just too easy. However, as she said, this Severus person would most likely be there, and I wanted to figure out what it was about this girl that didn't leave me wanting to kill her. Just looking at her, I knew any other human who looked like she did would have more than likely been dead already!

"I get what you're saying; when my sister-in-law was expecting she, too, was uncomfortable."

We chatted on the way to her apartment. Before we entered her suite, she turned to me. "Thank you for understanding about me wanting to come here. I know a great number of guys who would think me a slut for trying to get a great looking guy like you alone." She then turned red with embarrassment. "Now I've gone and put my foot in my mouth. I mean, yes you are attractive, but I'm not thinking that way."

Yet her emotions told a different story. She was feeling some lust, but not an overly large amount.

"Not that you're thinking anything like that," I teased. There was more embarrassment mixed with regret.

As we stepped into the apartment, I was surprised at it. It did not scream 'university students'. "Hello, Severus?" she called out. No one answered. "He must be out."

She showed me to the living room. Everything about the place said quality. Based on how she was feeling now, I guessed some humor could help the mood. "This is a very nice place. Is this Severus your sugar daddy?"

She was repulsed at the idea! "Severus? Um, NO! I would rather not think of him as a sexual person, thank you very much! No, he was... oh Merlin, this sounds worse that I ever thought it could; he was the most hated teacher at my school. Hell, some of my classmates once believed he was a vampire!" Oddly, there was only a feeling of complete honesty that came with this statement, but no humor. "He knew both my family and the family of the father of the baby I'm carrying. He was planning on coming here when I found out I was pregnant." She paused, "Can I get you something to drink or eat?"

I knew it would seem odd to say no. "Water would be great, thank you."

Two minutes later, I was sitting in an armchair and she was reclining on the sofa. "So how does one end up living with one of their schoolteachers?" I asked.

She smiled at me. "Are you ready for baggage?"

"Sure. I will even share some of mine after."

"Well, my family and the family of this baby's father DON'T get along! Think of something like Romeo and Juliet's families. I thought he and I had something special, but I was wrong. I'm just the biggest notch on his bed post. He even told me to kill my baby!

"I thought if we were together, I could at least be a mum; it wouldn't have been easy, but I could have. He all but laughed at me when I told him. My family is very old fashioned; to have a baby when you're not married is not good, and I couldn't ever imagine what the reaction to Draco being the father would be!

"So when I told Draco, Severus was in the same pub. He overheard everything, and he offered to let me come here with him."

"Do you plan on ever telling your family?" I asked.

She warmly smiled at me. "One day I might tell them about the baby. I think they could deal with that, but who the father is? Never, at least not if I want to stay alive."

I knew that as far as her family went, there was no risk of them killing her, but I could feel the pain at the idea of how her family would feel. "I'm sure your family wouldn't kill you."

She laughed out loud; there was no trying to tone it down or to make it more ladylike. It was pure, honest, and real. I found it very appealing. Once her laughter stopped, she spoke, "If you ever heard my Mum once she got going, you would be wishing for the most painful death possible. If we don't stop her quick enough, she can go on for hours."

I smiled. "Esme used guilt to let us know she wasn't happy with us. She still won't really speak to Alice for leaving." It was true; Esme had been hurt by Alice's choice to leave us, but Alice had had a vision and ran with it. She still hadn't told us everything, but I knew a little more. You don't end a marriage without some explanation. She told me our time had come to an end and that while it would hurt, in the end she and I would be so much happier. She also told me that she and I would always love each other, but just not as mates, and that her leaving would make things easier for me to move past her and the feelings I had for her. Also, if she stayed we would try to work things out and in the end only end up hating each other. I had offered to leave, for I could have been on my own or met up with Peter and Charlotte. She told me I had to stay with the others. Alice went to the Volturi; she said her path was taking her there.

"So what's your baggage?"

"I was married; she decided she needed to do other things."

"Ouch. But aren't you a little young to have been married?" she pondered.

"Alice saved me. We grew very close; she was one of the others Esme and Carlisle adopted. Living in the same house, it didn't take long for us to be as close as any married couple. Our parents are very forward thinking."

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"They felt that as close as we were, it was going to happen, Alice and I. It seems as if we have never not shared a bedroom."

"Oh!" She was surprised.

"Does this bother you?" I could still only feel her shock.

"No. I mean, I guess that's better than having two teens sneak around. Less chance of someone ending up like me."

Oh, if she had any idea of how impossible that was!

I had reached the point where I was sure that my blood lust wouldn't affect me for today. I remember Edward having explained once that the longer he was around Bella on any one day, the easier it was. I, too, found that. However, normally after a couple of hours around Bella, I would take off, no longer able to endure it.

We talked for a couple of hours. It was easy and natural. Okay, not natural, but as natural as a vampire talking with a human should be. I heard someone coming down the hall, then a key in the lock.

"Oh, that must be Severus!" she exclaimed.

A second later, I understood why she never wanted to think of him as a sexual being. I could tell life hadn't been easy for this man. His jet black hair hung limply down. Looking at his choice in clothing, while all high quality, all I could think of is that it was people like this who needed Alice's talent for fashion. His eyes were almost as dark as ours went when we were hungry.

Ginny shifted around, trying to get up. I wanted to help her up, but didn't want to overstep my bounds.

The other man swept into the room and helped her up. "I know hip- humpback whales that have an easier time." His tone was hard, as were his words, but the second he looked at her I felt the love he felt for her. It was sweet and pure, much like what Carlisle felt toward us others.

"Thank you, Severus. This is the young man I was telling you about for my Psychology class. Jasper Hale, this is Severus Snape."

He reached out to shake my hand. As he felt the coldness of me, I felt wonder, interest, and suspicion. I guessed the last was because of the fact that I was alone with her in his home.

"Pleased to meet you, sir." I tried to send him some calming waves.

**A/N I know this is a crossover and as such it won't get the attention my other stories have. But I would really like to know what your thinking so far. So please hit the review button, even if it's not a review but if you have a question. I do reply to any reviews that ask a question as long as the person has an account and logged in when they reviewed!**


	4. Meeting The Others

**Gift Or Torture?**

**Chapter Four**

**Meeting The Others**

**Severus POV **

Who was this young man? He was ice cold! And it felt as if someone was trying to enter my mind. I know I raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

After he left, Ginny had started supper. Thank Merlin Molly Weasley taught her how to cook. "Ginny, stay away from him," I warned. Something was there; I just couldn't put my finger on it. The way the young man moved was too planned, too graceful.

She stopped dead and looked at me. "What? Why?"

"He's dangerous."

"Severus Snape, I think you spent too many years as a spy. You think everyone is dangerous!"

"Are you telling me you do feel a need to run from him?"

"No! He's good, I can tell."

"This from the girl who thought that Voldemort was her best friend and that she had something real with Draco Malfoy. Why am I not surprised?"

"Relax, he's very nice. He only came here because I couldn't stand the idea of trying to sit in an upright position any more today. Besides, what man in his right mind would have any interest in a pregnant woman?"

I shook my head. "There's a reason you have so many brothers..."

The look on her face was one of disgust. "Mum and Dad only had sex six times! Once of each of us."

"Once is all it takes," Severus replied drolly.

"Could we talk about something else? I'm losing my appetite. By the way, where were you last night?"

"I needed to Apparate over to England for a bit. How did the interview go?"

"Awful. I felt like I should have been honored they agreed to meet me and that if they took the baby I would be the lucky one. I left after about twenty minutes. I'm beginning to wonder if it's a bad idea to have a Muggle couple raise a Pure blood baby! I can't imagine how that couple would react to getting a letter from Hogwarts!"

"Trust me, Ginny; there is a couple out there for your baby, and they will have no problem with the fact that she is a witch."

**JPOV**

I had stopped for a quick drink before heading to the house. When I pulled off the main road, Carlisle met me coming up the drive. "You're later than normal."

"I spent some time with her today," I stated, maybe a little too excitedly.

"Did you feel any lust for her blood?"

"No, nothing. I stopped at a mall to check and see if I still had it. It only seems to be her. I paid attention to all of my senses, and nothing appears to be wrong with her."

"Jasper, I would like to meet her, and have the others meet her, too. Let's see if she has the same effect on the rest of us."

I was unsure of how to convince her to come here, or how the others would react. "I think we need to tell the others what's happening."

The next few days were sunny, so I was unable to invite her to the house. I found the days were long, and in all my years of living this life I had never looked forward to being around humans. Now I watched the weather for a break from the sun. This area was not the best for our kind because there was a lot of sun. My classes were chosen because it was easy to get to them without being outside too much; however, getting to the university could be a problem at times.

As the fourth day of not being in class began, I was starting to feel abnormal. I had been depressed before, but this was not like that. I began to think about heading to Alaska to see if a change was in order. Maybe I had had enough of taking classes I didn't need.

**GPOV**

For six days now Jasper hadn't come to class. I was beginning to think he dropped the class. I wondered how this would affect my final assignment. While I didn't need these classes, I still wanted to do well in them. Severus had done a lot of work to get me into them, I felt I owed it to him to do well.

Finally, on the seventh day, I saw him standing in his usual spot. I made my way to him. "Hi!" I happily greeted him.

He gave me a warm smile in return. "Hello, Miss Ginevra."

I couldn't believe how that one innocent statement made my knees go weak. "Where have you been?"

He looked at me for a second. "A family thing came up."

"Oh. I was beginning to think you dropped the class," I admitted. "I mean, you missed a lot of stuff."

"I know. I was actually hoping you might be willing to help me out. Would you be able to come over to my place and help me catch up?"

"I could just give you my notes," I offered.

"Are you that excited about spending another evening with your old teacher?" he teased.

"No, I guess not. Sure, what can it hurt?"

After class, we headed to his car. In the car park he led me right to the passenger door. Before he opened it, he trapped me between the car and his arms. He looked into my eyes; they were so intense. He then smiled at me. "I should warn you; I like to speed."

I almost lost my tongue as the idea of flying on a broom rushed through my head. "You might be surprised at the adrenaline rush I like!"

He swallowed hard and paused for half a second, then moved me gently out of the way and opened the door for me. He helped me get into his car that sat low to the ground; not the type of car a pregnant woman should be getting in and out of!

Before I knew it, we were speeding out of the car park. "We live a fair way out of town," he explained.

"Back home, we live in the country, but it is walking distance from town."

I was a little surprised at how he weaved in and out of traffic, but I loved it! It was like playing Quidditch.

"So what kind of adrenaline rushes do you like?" he asked as he looked over at me.

I knew there was no way to explain to a Mugglethe rush playing Quidditch gave me. "Well, you know I'm telling the truth because I'm not freaking out now. This is close to what I'm used to, but before we leave the city I think I need to stop to use the loo."

It didn't take long before he stopped at a gas station. However, I knew right away I was in trouble. "I hate to say this, but I'm going to need some help getting out of this car."

He was out of the car and around to my side quite quickly. I couldn't help but notice how strong he was, but his hands were cold.

After we continued on, I was surprised we weren't pulled over by the police; we were driving almost as fast as the car could go. When we pulled up to the house, I thought it looked like a castle crossed with a log cabin. I was in love with the house immediately; it was all wood and stone with lots of windows.

We walked up the steps to the door. "I should warn you; I think most of my family is here today," he said.

"Good. Any extra help you can get for this class, the better. If they're anything like my family, they will be willing to tell me all kinds of embarrassing stories about you as a child. All that insight on what makes you you."

"That's not fair! I don't have the same advantage."

"Well, whoever said life was fair?" I asked. He then opened the door. Inside the home was an open concept. There was a winding staircase and a living room and one could see the dining room as well. The room almost had a round feel to it. "This is beautiful," I gushed.

"Esme will love to hear you say that. Let's get the introductions over with. Everyone?" he called out.

"Geez, man! Why so loud?" asked a dark haired guy as he came in the room. He was built much like Charlie, just a little bigger. "Oh man, sorry."

"Emmett, this is a friend of mine, Ginevra Weasley. Ginny, this is my brother Emmett."

"Ginny," he greeted me warmly. "I hope you don't mind, but you look more relaxed than a Ginevra would be."

"Emmett, nice to meet you."

Then a beautiful blond entered the room and wrapped her arms around Emmett.

"This is Rosalie," Jasper said.

"Your twin sister, right? I have twin brothers."

"You must be Ginny. Jasper mentioned you." She smiled at me, then looked over at Jasper. "You didn't tell me she was pregnant." She seemed a little upset. She looked back at me. "How far along are you?" The warm returned for me.

"28 weeks."

"You must be so excited," she said as I noticed Jasper shake his head.

"It's fine, Jasper. I plan to give up the baby," I explained to Rosalie.

"These are my parents, Carlisle and Esme." He directed my attention to the other side of the room.

The couple were standing with their arms wrapped around each other, making me feel that they truly were in love. He had blond hair and she looked as if she should be a mother. I could see she, Jasper, and Rosalie all had the same eye color.

"Esme, Carlisle, this is Ginevra Weasley. She is in one of my classes and we were planning on going over what I have missed in class over the last week."

"Ginevra, it's lovely to have you in our home," Esme greeted me warmly.

"Thank you, and this home is beautiful."

"Thank you. So, you're from Britain? I was born in London," Carlisle said as he shook my hand. "Sorry, all my patients say my hands are cold."

"Well, you know the old saying; cold hands, warm heart," I smiled warmly at him.

"We should get down to covering what I missed, "Jasper declared.

"Jasper, where are your manners?" Esme scolded. "Ginny, would you like something to drink? I'm afraid Carlisle and I are going out for dinner; otherwise, I would ask you to have dinner with us."

"That's fine. Besides, I don't really eat much these days. The baby is not leaving much room for food! I guess it's good that I haven't had much interest in eating lately."

"Does you doctor know that?" Carlisle asked.

"Carlisle is a doctor," Jasper offered.

"Yes, he just said to try to eat even if I'm not interested," I explained. "You try eating when you're looking at your food and you would really rather not eat what's in front of you."

Small waves of laughter echoed through the room; it was almost as if I hit upon a private joke. "We all have been there once or twice."

"Did I or did I not tell you to stay away from him?" Severus griped at me.

"Really, Severus! We went to his home and I met his family. He even had his adoptive father trade cars with him because his car was not the best for a pregnant woman. If he was bad and evil I doubt he would care about whether I was comfortable or not."

"You met his family? What were they like?" His tone now indicated curiosity.

I mentally searched for what he wanted to hear. "They were nice...normal, I guess. He, his sister, and aunt all have the same color eyes... come to think of it, they all did. His uncle / father is a doctor at the children's hospital. I don't know what you're thinking of."

"Ginny," he stressed, "when I met him, I felt as if he was trying to enter my mind. Please, don't trust him, and if you're going to insist, carry your wand at the very least."

"Severus, I think you're overreacting, but I understand. For all the years you spent living as you did, this must be just like breathing."

**A/N- This was one of the few chapters that will be done in more than one point of view.**

**Please tell me if this is any good I can't wait to hear what you think!**


	5. Found Out About Me

**Gift Or Torture**

**Chapter 5**

**Found Out About Me**

When I returned home, Rosalie was sitting on the steps waiting for me. I didn't need my power to know she was pissed, however she did wait until I got out of the car. "What were you thinking, being alone with her all the time you drove here? She's going to have a baby!" she ranted.

"Rose, she's fine. I still don't feel any blood lust for her," I stated.

She looked down, then back up at me. "I know. I saw how golden your eyes were when you arrived here, but why take the risk? It's not just her, but the baby, too?"

"Did you feel any lust for her blood?" I asked.

For the first time in a long time, I felt shame from her. "Yes, I did."

"Can we go in and talk about this with the others?"

She nodded, took my hand, and whispered, "I'm proud of you."

She was proud of me and I was feeling shame because I was pleased for once to not be the weak link. When we entered, the others had gathered in the living room. It was still odd; not only was Alice gone, but Edward, Bella, Nessie, and Jacob were also living away from us. All of us had lived apart from the rest of the family at some point, but there had never been so few of us.

"Well?" I asked.

"She smelled as good as chocolate used to," Esme admitted.

"I wanted to sink my teeth in her as much as I ever wanted with anyone," Emmett agreed.

My eyes fell on Carlisle. "Wish I could say something different. I didn't notice anything wrong with her."

"Then why do I not feel any blood lust for her?"

"I wish I knew. I will start some research on this, though. Would you be willing to ask Alice to watch to see if something changes?"

My phone then rang. "That will be her," I said as I pulled out my phone. "Hello, Alice."

"Of course I will watch, but I don't think anything will change," she declared.

Carlisle asked for the phone, so I handed it to him. "Alice, we miss you."

"I miss you, too."

"You should come back for a visit."

"I see myself there in a few months' time."

"Good. Would you mind asking the others if they..." Carlisle was cut off.

"I don't think that's a good idea right now. I don't think you would want anyone coming to investigate."

"You're right, there. Well, let us know when you will be coming."

"I will, and give Esme my love." Alice then hung up.

Carlisle flipped the phone shut and looked at me for a minute. "Jasper, I normally have complete faith in you, which is why this scares me. Please be extremely careful around Ginevra. If you were suddenly surprised at your own blood lust..."

I knew the others worried about offending me by implying I was not in as much control as them; however, I looked at it differently. I spent over a century feeding on human blood. I knew exactly what I was missing and I knew how unsatisfied I was by this diet. It was the guilt I felt when I took someone's life, and their fear of me, that kept me from hunting humans now.

I remember a phone call from Alice months before:

"_Jasper, it's me, Alice." Alice is the woman who brought me to this way of life. When we first got together, she had explained that we needed to be together to find ourselves, to become better, happier beings. She never claimed that we were soulmates. However, the only way we would ever find our true path was to be together and to find our family, the Cullens. One year ago, she left us to join the Volturi, her true path. She had to wait for the right time to join them. When she left, it was on good terms with the whole family, to which she will always belong._

"_Alice," I smiled into the phone._

"_Jazz, remember I want you to be happy. I'm fine with this."_

"_Alice?" I began to question._

"_You're never going to believe me if I tell you," the cryptic little monster said._

"_What are you talking about?" I said, only to hear her hang up on me. _

Was this thing with Ginny what she was talking about that day? I found I was beginning to hope so. I did like Ginny; she was smart, funny, warm, and caring. I felt that for some reason she would understand about my past if I was able to tell her about it. However, I never would; I didn't want to place her in the same danger Edward had once placed Bella in.

At the same time, I wondered what Alice had seen. Was Ginny somehow part of my true path?

Three weeks later, I was at Ginny's apartment. I was helping her study for a mid-term that was coming up. She tossed her book on the coffee table. "Crap! I can't stand this any more!" She began to struggle to get up off the sofa. I rose and gave her a hand. "Thanks. Look, if I don't have some stir fry right now, I'm going to die! Can we continue while I cook?"

"Sure." I grabbed my book and followed her into the kitchen. She started pulling out vegetables, a glass cutting board and then a big knife.

"You quiz me while I do this?" she asked, then moved to the sink and started washing the vegetables.

When she turned back and started cutting, I saw how close she came to cutting herself with the first two slices. I could see it all play out; she would get too close, the knife would slip, she would begin to bleed, and I would attack her and drain her! I couldn't let that happen. "Please, let me do that for you."

She stopped and smiled. "I don't mind." She then sliced the onion again.

The image of draining her flashed in my mind again. "Ginny, I know your back is killing you. You could sit down and I could do this."

"No, it's fine," she insisted as pride radiated off of her.

"Ginevra, put the knife down and step over here now!" came the voice of Severus.

I hadn't heard him, only because I was so focused on her and trying to ready myself for the flow of blood. I still didn't want to risk taking my eyes off of her.

"Severus!" she gasped. "What are you doing?" She looked past me to him, but the knife was still in her hand.

"I always knew that the Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers you had were below standards, but you still always did well. But not knowing a vampire when you have spent the amount of time you have with one?"

"Severus? What are you talking about? Jasper isn't a vampire! Their eyes are red," Ginny exclaimed.

I was honestly trying to process the information that had come out. Somehow they, or he at least, knew. "Ginny, he's right. Please put the knife down."

Her eyes locked on mine. I could see surprise, disbelief, and shock. "But you... no."

"Ginevra, list the characteristics of vampires," Severus said, sounding more like a teacher than I had ever heard. I could feel his fear; it was that of a parent for a child.

"Strength, speed, cold skin, attractive, skin sparkles in sunlight, red eyes unless hungry, then black."

I looked at the man behind me; he held a wand pointed right at me. I returned my attention to her. "You know he's right. Please put the knife down," I pleaded with her this time.

She finally placed the knife on the counter, and I raised my hands up in an 'I'm not going to do anything to her' way. "But your eyes..." she started.

"I don't feed off of humans anymore. That's why they aren't red."

The dark man, still aiming his wand at me, reached forward and grabbed Ginny, pulling her to him and then placing her protectively behind him. I had to hold back a growl that was building in my throat. I knew of the magical world, but because of my life's path, I never had anything to do with it myself.

"You need to leave and stay away from her," he threatened.

I could feel shock, a little disappointment, and regret coming from Ginny. "As I said, I don't feed off of humans. She was never in any real danger from me," I reaffirmed them.

"Severus, how did you know?" she asked. She was confused and hurt, and I wanted to comfort her.

He still held his wand towards me. "He's too graceful, he's pale, you never see him outside on a sunny day, he never eats with you, and I looked inside his mind. He is more dangerous than you could ever dream."

He what? "You what?" I asked.

He finally spoke to me. "You tried to enter my mind the first time I met you. I simply returned the favor," he almost spit at me. "He has killed more than most vampires three times his age," he told her.

She was still in a state of shock and disbelief. "Severus, I have been alone with him lots of times, and he has never been anything but a perfect gentleman. I think I can trust him."

He gave a hard, forced laugh. "You trusted Voldemort and Draco Malfoy! Ginevra, you don't have the best sense of who you should put your trust in."

Voldemort, I had heard from Peter about him. She trusted him?

"I will leave and not return, if that's what Ginny wants," I offered. However, deep down I knew I could never stay away from her. She looked at me and I felt so many things coming off of her at once, I knew she was about to overload. I sent her some calming waves. "Ginny, I'm going to leave for now, so take some time to think about things. If you want to remain friends, you have my cell number, so just call. If you don't, I will understand and not bother you."

Severus indicated for me to head to the door, and followed me to it. "She's not doing well with this. Keep a close eye on her," I told him.

"Just leave Ginny to me; she'll be fine." I could feel he would move heaven and earth to protect her.

"It's been almost ten years since I slipped and drank a human, but I don't feel any blood lust for her," I tried to assure him. Clearly he viewed himself as her protector.

I could feel him enter my mind. Why had I not noticed it before? Finally, he asked, "Why?"

"I don't know. My family and I have been trying to figure it out. I would never endanger her." I didn't understand where this sureness was coming from, but I knew it to be true.

"**I will rip you to shreds if you ever try," he assured me. For the first time since becoming a vampire, I was in fear of a human.**

_**A/N Please leave me a review, I really want to know what you think! **_


	6. The Fall

**Gift Or Torture**

**Chapter 6**

**The Fall**

**GPOV**

Jasper Hale was a vampire! He admitted it! A dark creature, something I should fear, something I should never trust, and yet I felt I could trust him. Merlin, something was wrong with my trust radar! I was still trying to come to grips with this when Severus reentered the room. He spoke not a word, but came over to me and pulled me into an embrace.

I grabbed hold of the sides of his shirt and held tight. I refused to cry, and holding onto him I felt like I was drawing on his strength. "How did I not see it?" I asked, sounding like a small child.

"You want to see the best in everyone, but like most you couldn't look past the fact that one of the main traits was missing. The only reason I knew for sure was because I looked into his mind. He was part of the vampire wars, and his role wasn't a small one."

"I thought the Volturi took care of everyone involved in that."

"Ginevra, you of all people should know there are still Death Eaters out there. Like us, there are those who would have escaped punishment for any number of reasons."

I felt like I couldn't let go of him. "Is what he said about not feeding on humans true?"

"I only saw what was in his mind, which was images of him draining humans. You need to calm down. Let me brew you a calming draught." He led me to the table and started brewing.

For the next two days, I tried to decide what I believed and what I didn't. Could a vampire live off of something other than human blood? Jasper claimed to. I had spent hours alone with them and never feared for myself. Yet Severus was right; I never saw any danger from Tom until it was to late, and I was stupid enough to think that I meant something to Draco.

Now here I was, surprised at how I was left feeling about a vampire! He still attended class; however, he would slip into class at the last second and leave the second class was over. He never tried to catch my eye, but I could feel him watching me.

I missed him! I realized that the first day I arrived at class and he wasn't standing outside of the room. It was something I had come to look forward to. He always seemed to know how I was feeling, and if I was down, he tried to cheer me up.

The day of the midterm, I was sitting writing the test when the baby kicked me, HARD! I gasped out loud, so the whole class heard and turned to look at me. I hadn't been expecting it because the baby hadn't been moving much that morning. Everyone was looking at me and I knew I was about the same color as my hair. However, when I looked up I made eye contact with Jasper. He gave me a smile and instantly I felt a little calmer. I returned a small smile to him. Then the professor shot me a look, so I rubbed my baby belly and mumbled, "Sorry."

However, like all the other days, he took off the second class was over. Instead of being hurt, I knew he meant that he meant what he said and he wasn't going to push. Two days after our midterm, I was taking the bus home from a meeting at the adoption agency when another bus hit mine. I had been standing, after giving up my seat to an elderly lady. The force of the impact was enough to knock me forward and I landed on my belly.

Many of the passengers on the bus, including myself, were taken to the closest hospital to be checked over. I didn't want to go, but I had been doing the whole Muggle doctor thing for the adoption, and the paramedics insisted. "Miss, you don't really want to risk something happening to your baby. What's it going to hurt to get checked?"

Well, how do you argue with that? The hospital they took me to was at the campus. Even though the hospital didn't have a maternity ward, it was chosen because the roads were so bad and the next closest hospital maternity ward was in an overflow situation.

I was placed in a room and minutes later, there was a knock on the door. "Come in."

The door opened and there was Jasper's father, Carlisle Cullen. For the last few days, I had been thinking that being a doctor was a cover story, so I was shocked to see him. He, however, looked calm. He smiled at me. "Ginny, if you want I will call in a nurse or get another doctor, but please, give me one minute first."

I decided to give him his minute. I wanted to hear what he had to say, and I wanted to understand how he could be in a hospital, with all the blood around. "I'll hear you out."

He smiled at me. "Jasper said you know about us. I have been a vampire for about 370 years and never have I drank human blood. I spent years learning to control myself, to the point that I'm a doctor and have been for a very long time."

"What do you drink then?" I asked, clearly intrigued.

"Animals, larger game mostly," he answered.

I nodded. "You control things enough to be a doctor?"

"As a human, I was the son of a minister. I have always placed a high value on human life."

"Jasper said you work here, in the Children's hospital. Why are you in here?" I asked.

He took the stool in the room and sat down by the bed. "It's a slow day in there and super busy here. I was asked to help out. Can I check you and the baby over?"

"Sure, I guess."

He smiled at me. "Any movement from the baby?"

"Not much, but she has been quiet lately, for the most part."

He indicated for me to lay down as he stood up. "She's just running out of room. You should have been taken to the other hospital, but I understand they are really busy. If I see anything that says you should need treatment, we will have you transferred over there and you'll jump anyone in overflow. You're at 31 weeks?"

"About that, yes."

"I can tell, but I still have to ask; was there any blood when you went to the bathroom?" He gently started pressing on my tummy, feeling the baby.

"No, things seemed normal."

"The baby has turned. Its heart rate is 160 beats per minute."

"It's a girl," I said.

"You think?" he asked with a smile on his face.

"Something my Mum always claimed, and she had six boys..." I explained.

"Things seem good, but I would like to do an ultrasound. Do you mind?"

As he did the ultrasound, he began to explain, "Jasper has been a part of my family for a long time and while his past isn't the best, if you ask me, he is better at this than the rest of us. To live as he has and then take on our way of life, it is truly remarkable." He paused for a second and we made eye contact. "Do you want to know what it is?"

They hadn't asked me before. Did I want to know? Yes. "I think so."

"You're right, it's a girl," he smiled at me.

"Wow! The first girl born into my family in seven generations is going to give birth to the first girl in over four hundred years in her father's family!"

"That's a long time."

"It's rumored that they placed a charm on the wives to ensure only boys were born."

"Then you are a witch?" he inquired for confirmation of his suspicions.

"Yes."

He nodded before continuing, "Everything looks good. I think it's fine for you to go home, but if there's anything out of the ordinary you need to call your doctor right away." He reached over and shut off the ultrasound machine. "On a personal note, I think you should call Jasper; he's been through a lot and I think your friendship is good for both of you."

"How would you know what's good for me?"

"Jasper is an empath; he can manipulate emotions, which the effects of could help you right now."

I didn't know what to think! Clearly, to be working in a hospital he had to have found a way to control his blood lust, but what about Jasper? Could he? And what would Severus say if I decided to to call?

Severus had been so very good to me, I felt I owed it to him to think of how he would feel about my actions.

"Call him," Dr. Cullen encouraged.

I wanted to, for Jasper was someone who before this I called a friend. But Severus was right; I did have some issues with how willingly I trusted men. "I'll think about it," I told the doctor.

"Do you have a ride home?" he asked.

"I'll call Severus to pick me up. Thanks, though"

When I called, Severus promised to come right away. He did grumble about having to drive on the bad roads, but he understood that Apparating was not safe for expecting women. I waited in the hospital waiting room for him to arrive. Like always, he swept in making a dramatic entrance. He walked over to me. As I was sitting down, it took longer for me to rise.

"What exactly happened?" he asked.

"My bus was hit by another bus. I had given an old lady my seat and I was not expecting a crash, so I fell forward, landing belly first."

"You're okay, though? And the baby, is it alright?"

"I checked her out; you and baby are both fine." Dr. Cullen then appeared out of nowhere.

"Severus, this is Dr. Cullen. He's Jasper's,- um, adoptive father," I explained. I could see Severus' hand itching for his wand.

"Carlisle Cullen," he greeted as he offered his hand to shake.

While Severus extended his own hand, I could tell it was forced. "Severus Snape."

Then the emergency doors opened and a woman rushed in holding a small child who was covered in blood. "Somebody help! My baby!" the mother said hysterically. Carlisle went right over and took the child from her mother and led them to the peds area. The doctor was totally calm.

Severus watched with interest. "How is that even possible?"

"I'll tell you what he told me once we're alone," I whispered.

Later, I told him what Dr. Cullen had told me. He looked me in the eyes. "Had I not see him with that child, I would have never believed it. But Ginny, I also know what I saw in Mr Hale's mind. He is truly someone to fear. I know that once you have set your mind to something, there's no changing it. What do you plan on doing?"

I thought for a long moment before replying, "I want to call him and at least hear his story."

"You're going to trust him, then? It's a good thing you're fast with your wand. And try to remember your Bat-bogey hex will have little effect; you're better off with an Immobilizing charm. I wish you had practiced more wandless magic. And remember; you'll only get one shot, so make it count."

"Severus, are you ever going to trust anyone?"

"I trusted people to let me die, yet I'm still alive."

I looked at him. I could understand how he felt. He was always very prideful, and to have to look at and talk to Harry, who reminded him of James Potter, would have been difficult. Having Harry know how he felt about Lily Evans Potter as well. I think what was harder on him was having Harry now feel like he owed Severus something.

I understood how that had to affect him. He didn't want Harry's gratitude; he wanted Lily's forgiveness. I could tell all these years later how he still loved her. It was really a shame that deep down under the layers of hurt and sadness was this person with an amazing ability to love. I hoped that one day he would have someone love him back like he deserved.

Later that same night, I lay down on my bed and picked up my cell phone. I ran my fingers over it for at least five minutes before I finally called Jasper. I guessed he waited until the caller ID showed who was calling.

"Ginevra," he greeted.

Some part of me felt much like I had the first time I wrote in Tom's diary after stealing it back from Harry. "Jasper," was all I could say.

"Are you okay?"

**A/N besides this one I have another twilight crossover, it's a Carlisle/ Ginny, it has a lot more hits and reviews, I'm wondering, if you think changing the summary would help. If so how would you word it?**


	7. The Discussion

**Gift Or Torture**

**Chapter 7**

**The Discussion**

**JPOV**

I had missed her. I worried she wouldn't phone me, but was pleased she did. However, the second I heard her voice, I wished we were speaking in person. I could hear she wasn't as relaxed as I would have liked, but I was unsure just what she was feeling.

"So you're a vampire. Well, in case you didn't figure it out, I'm a witch," Ginny said.

"I put that much together when I saw Severus pointing a wand at me," I replied, trying to keep it light.

"He has some real issues with trust," she stated. The conversation started out stiff. I wish I knew what she was thinking; for my power to work, I need to be closer to her.

"Are you calling because you want to remain friends?" I finally asked, knowing how pathetic I sounded.

"I think... we need to talk before I make up my mind."

"Ginny, I don't do this whole 'speaking on the phone' thing well, at least not for anything big. I'm an empath and I need to be able to feel what you're feeling. Would you be willing to have this talk in person?" I hoped she would say yes.

"I guess."

"Great! The tea house, then? I can pick you up in about 30 minutes."

"Jasper, it's late, and unlike you I do need sleep. Lots of it in fact, and today was a hard day."

"Right, sorry. Tomorrow after class?" That night had to be one of the longest in my life. Had Alice told me I would look forward to spending time with a human, I never would have believed it possible. But here I was. I won't lie; I missed her. I don't recall feeling as empty as I had on those days she didn't speak with me. I knew I was in love with her. I was never more sure of anything. However, I knew she still had issues with the father of her baby. I wouldn't do to her what Edward did to Bella. I won't make her think that there is a chance for us. I will go on watching her grow old. I will watch her get married to a human when it's time. I will watch her have children with that lucky man; all while wanting to kill him more than any other human ever.

I will find a way to be a part of her world, even if it's only a small part, without making her feel she has to become one of us.

I waited until the last minute to enter the classroom. Like each day while we didn't speak, I took a read of how she was feeling. She was excited, but worried. When I looked at her, I saw a bruise on her forehead and on her elbow. I wanted to know how that happened.

Once class was over, I made my way to her. "Ginny," I said softly.

"Jasper." She smiled up at me.

"What happened? You have a couple of bruises."

"Yes. I thought I covered them pretty well." She reached up to her forehead. "Dr. Cullen didn't tell you?" She seemed surprised.

"Tell me what?" I asked. Carlisle had been working a double shift.

"I was taken to the ER after my bus was in an accident. He was the doctor who checked me out," she explained. I could feel she was comfortable with Carlisle.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

"Merlin, yes. I have been through much worse."

"Worse than a bus accident?" I questioned as we made our way to my car.

"Yes. I lived through a war and fought in the final battle." I could feel pride coming from her. "I wasn't supposed to fight in it, but when I got the chance, I had to go."

I stopped walking and looked at her. "I lied about my age to join the Confederate Army."

Our eyes locked and we both started to laugh. Once we stopped, she spoke, "I'm sorry, I never took an interest in Muggle history."

Could I blame her? No. "During the American Civil War." I could tell she had no clue of the reasons for the war, and I didn't hold it against her. It would have had no effect on her life. We continued to the car.

"Severus says that you're dangerous," she began. I could feel the trust she had in the man's opinion, but there was more. "I think there's more than what he saw in your mind."

I opened the car door and helped her in, then walked around to the driver's side. I got in and put the key in the ignition, turning it so the warm air would start working for her, then I turned and faced her. "Try not to get too scared by what I'm about to tell you. Dangerous doesn't even come close to describing me. I fought in the vampire newborn wars. I have killed more than you could ever dream of. I wish I had a better excuse, but it was at a time in my life when that was the only way of life I knew. It was kill or be killed. Then I was shown I didn't have to live like that. I still spent almost eighty more years feeding off humans, and to this day I still think about killing them." I could feel her fear, but it wasn't as strong as I was expecting.

"But you're willing to spend time with me?"

"I can hear your heart beating, I can hear the blood rushing through your veins, but I don't feel the need or want to drain you." I paused, giving myself the chance to analyze her feelings; she was amazed. "The only time I thought of if was the other day at your place, but it wasn't the want to drink you. It was fear that if you were to bleed, my lust would come out."

"Why me? What's different about me?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I enjoy spending time with you and not wanting to drain you."

"Does my blood smell bad?" She suddenly looked worried.

I realized I never even thought about how she smelled. I reached out and took hold of her wrist, bringing the underside up and inhaled, making her very nervous. "Nothing seems wrong with your scent. The day I brought you to my house was to see if you had the same effect on the others. Had you been with most other vampires, I'm sure you wouldn't have lasted long at all."

"Are you broken somehow?" she asked.

"No, I don't think so." I still hadn't moved the car. "I'm pretty sure it's just you."

She was chewing on her bottom lip, then she stopped, looked at me, and laughed. "Should I be offended or complimented?"

"You should be very careful around me. We don't know what it is abut you, and it's possible it could change at any minute. If I wasn't expecting it, things could end very badly for you." I knew I had to tell her the real risks to being near me.

"But you want to spend time with me. Why?"

"That was a good question. I think it's because you're someone different. I have spent 50 years with my family, and you can only hear their stories and jokes so many times. That's better than being alone, or around other vampires who do feed on humans. I don't want to go back to that way of life."

"You and Dr. Cullen said that you're an empath, too. How does that work?"

"I can feel what others are feeling, and I can manipulate the emotions of those around me."

"Then you could feel how people felt when you were killing them. That's why you don't want to go back to that way of life." She gave an understanding smile.

"Exactly."

"I'm not scared of you, even though I know I should be. I can hear Severus telling me how dumb I'm being because I'm not trembling with fear."

"Why do you let him talk to you like that?" It was something I didn't understand about her.

"It's just his way. He doesn't mean to be mean, he just doesn't deal well with people. He's been hurt and I think he's scared to tell someone that he cares because he's scared they won't care back." I could feel the sadness she felt towards him.

"Do you mind if we don't go to the tea house?"

I could feel disappointment coming from her. "No, I guess not," she replied.

"I thought we could head back to my family's home instead." I just wanted to spend time with her without the distraction of humans.

"Will you tell me more about yourself and your past?"

"Ginny, it's not a nice story," I cautioned as I finally put the car in reverse.

"I grew up in a war, and my story isn't the prettiest. I might be able to handle more than you think." She winked.

"Kid, I think this might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship," I quoted.

"Who are you calling 'kid'?" she asked, feeling insulted.

"I'm 160 years older than you, so you're a kid."

"When does one stop being a kid then?" She looked like she was looking for trouble.

"We'll talk when you're fifty," I teased her.

I forgot to stop and let her use a restroom before hitting the highway. However, I soon felt her discomfort. "What's wrong, Ginny?"

"I have to use the loo," she complained.

Not that I ever looked for one, but I was sure there weren't any between here and the house. "Can you last five minutes?"

"Maybe, if she doesn't kick. If you could just pull over I can go in the bush." Her need was that bad!

"I can't let you do that," I said.

"Why? I'm pretty sure that there's nothing in the bush that would want to eat me that you couldn't deal with." She looked at me, looking totally serious.

"Because you're a lady."

She started laughing. After a few seconds, tears were slipping down her cheeks and she reached across and slapped me. "Don't do that! Don't make a pregnant woman laugh when she needs to pee!" I felt she was in pain and I'm sure I heard a crack from her wrist.

I was confused. "I don't understand. All I said was that -"

"You called me a lady! I can assure you that while I might look like one, or even be able to act like one, I'm really a tomboy at heart."

"Really?" She was radiating happiness.

"I remember asking Mum when I was going to get my penis. I even asked for one once for a birthday present." She wiped a couple more tears away, but she was smiling. "I thought something was really wrong with me because I didn't have one."

"A tomboy, really?" I asked, still not believing her.

"Growing up with all those brothers, Mum didn't have time to be into beauty charms, so I didn't really learn how to be a girl until I started school."

"Well, for someone who didn't learn to be a girl until almost a teenager, you do a very good job of it."

She wasn't so confident. "It's being pregnant, it gives a false impression."

I had pulled the car into our drive, and once she saw the house, relief washed over her. Once I helped her out of the car, she almost ran for the house. I didn't think a pregnant woman could move that quick!

While I waited for her to finish in the bathroom, Carlisle asked me into his study. "Jasper, what's happening with her?"

"I think we're going to be friends," I explained.

"Fine, but make sure she takes care of her personal needs. The way she ran to the bathroom just now, you can't expect or ask her to hold off like a normal human can. If she were to develop a bladder infection, it could cause her to go into labor early."

"Oh, I didn't realize that. Anything else I should know?" I asked. When I was alive, men didn't talk about things like this. Besides, it was never something I needed to worry about.

"She will be very hormonal and have mood swings."

I nodded. "Can you take a look at her wrist? I upset her with a comment and she hit me. I think she may have broken it, but she hasn't said anything yet."

**A/N This story is not getting as many reviews as I had hoped Please tell me if it's that bad.**


	8. Where Do We Stand?

**Gift Or Torture?**

**Chapter 8**

**Where Do We Stand?**

**GPOV**

I should have known better than to hit a vampire! I think I may have broken my hand, judging by the swelling. When I stepped out of the bathroom, I made my way to the living room. Jasper wasn't there, but Esme was.

"Ginevra, it's lovely to see you again," she greeted me.

"Thank you," I said, feeling a little funny.

"Come and sit down. I remember how one's back can hurt when pregnant." She smiled at me. I must have looked confused. "Before I was changed, I had a son, but he died," she explained.

"Oh, that's horrible! You must think that I'm-"

"No Ginevra, I don't. You're giving up your child because you aren't ready to be a parent. I'm sure you only want the best for the baby, and I'm sure that you will still love your child. If you didn't, you would have ended your pregnancy. Instead, you're willing to put your life on hold to give him a chance at life. And you will make some lucky couple a family."

I could feel the tears burning my eyes. It was nice to have someone understand!

"Don't cry, dear. I didn't mean to upset you." She placed an arm around me. "I know what it's like to be alone and expecting."

"Really?"

"My husband, my human husband, was abusive, so I ran away and then found out I was expecting."

Jasper and Carlisle then entered the room. Carlisle was at his wife's side instantly, wrapping his arm around her. She looked at him and smiled. I could see the things between them that didn't need to be said because I saw my own parents be able to do the same thing.

"Dr. Cullen," I greeted.

"Ginny, please, call me Carlisle. Jasper asked me to take a look at your wrist. He thinks you may have broken it."

"It's all right, you don't have to look at it. I know it's broken," I explained.

"You know?"

"I have broken more bones than I can count. Trust me, it's fine. I already mended it in the bathroom."

"Do you mind if I check it anyway?" the doctor asked.

"You don't trust magic?" I asked in return.

"Let him check it," Jasper said. "He needs to know for sure and won't give up now."

I stepped forward and held out my wrist. He took hold of it and began to gently press on it, watching me for a reaction. "It's not in your best interest to hit a vampire. Remember, we are creatures of instinct."

"Sorry. I never even thought about it, growing up with brothers. When you got mad and Mum and Dad weren't around, fighting was the best way."

"Can we talk about your past?" Jasper asked.

"I guess, but I want to know about yours, too."

I saw Esme cringe a little, but Carlisle said, "If you don't mind, I would like to hear about it, too."

"No, that's fine." We all sat down. "What do you want to know?" I felt a lot calmer.

"Severus said you trusted Voldemort. I know only a little about your war."

"Um, okay. Where to start?"

"Voldemort lost the war, right?" Jasper asked.

"That's right. My family, my whole family, fought against him. You remember the friend I told you about? The one who was mistreated by his aunt and uncle? Well, it was foretold that he was the one who could defeat Voldemort."

"What was the war over?" Esme asked.

"Well, most Pure blood families believed that wizards and witches should keep their bloodlines clean. By that, I mean that you don't mix Pure bloods with Muggle, or non-magical, folks and that Muggle-born witches and wizards don't have a right to be part of our world. My family, while Pure blood, doesn't share this belief.

"A group of Pure bloods joined together under Tom Riddle, more commonly known as Voldemort or the Dark Lord. Funny though, he himself was a Half blood. They wanted to wipe out all non-Pure bloods and blood traitors, like my family.

"I personally got to know Tom, and I was very close to him. I didn't know at the time who he was. He used my feelings against me, and he was able to possess me. He used me to set loose a monster that almost killed three students, two of which were friends of mine. He was going to use me to bring himself back to life, even though it would have killed me. But Harry saved me. Tom was obsessed with making himself immortal, and he killed several times in order to achieve that goal."

"Why didn't he just find a vampire to change him?" Esme asked.

"Because vampires can be killed. Tom split his soul seven times, so you could kill his body and it would still be possible to come back to life as long as one piece of his soul remained."

"Ginny, how were you close to him?" Jasper asked.

"I was given a diary that contained a piece of his soul. I would write in it and he would write back. I had just started school and it was a hard time for me. Being the youngest, I felt I had a lot to live up to. My oldest brother was Head Boy, two of the others were Prefects, the twins were notorious jokers, and Ron was already Harry Potter's best friend. Everyone but Percy and Ron had played on the Quidditch team. There was never much money around, so my robes and books were all second-hand. But I had Tom, and he understood. He meant so very much to me, but I should have known better than to trust something if you can see where it keeps its brain."

Twenty minutes later, I finished telling them my whole story. Jasper was very interested. "Can I ask about the baby's father?" I was surprised by this.

"Draco? Well, again like I said, his family and mine never agreed on anything. Draco joined the Death Eaters when he was 16, however because of the way he and his family were treated by Voldemort and the fact they didn't take part in the final battle, they were pardoned of their crimes.

"Draco and I started seeing each other shortly after I finished school. I thought we were really something, but I was wrong. He laughed when I told him about the baby, and he wanted me to kill her. If his father found out about her, I believe he would kill both me and her. There is nothing in his mind lower than a blood traitor."

"What about your own family? Do they know?" Carlisle asked.

"No. I think they could handle the fact that I'm pregnant, but I know they would lose it over Draco being the father."

"Ginny, you're going through a lot right now; you need your mother," Esme said.

"I have Severus. He has been very good to me." I knew there was no reason for it, but in the time I had spent with him, I had come to understand him and I did love Severus.

Esme smiled at me. "Ginny, I have been in your place I know how hard this has to be for you. If you need to talk to someone about things, please feel free to come to me."

Later, Jasper and I were alone in his room. The room was large, with a whole wall of books. There was a solid wood desk with a laptop sitting on it. There was stereo equipment and CD's. There was a leather sofa and the other walls had framed movie posters, most of which I had never heard of.

"Esme likes you. I think she will be stocking the kitchen tomorrow," Jasper told me.

"She is very nice; your whole family is."

He smiled at me. "You haven't met the whole family."

"Oh, how many more of you are there?"

"Four, including Alice."

"Alice is real, then?" I had hoped she was just a cover story to help in not getting too close to anyone.

He got a look on his face that told me he was thinking of something pleasant. "Alice is who brought me to this way of life. I own her everything, and we have been together since the 1950's."

"Where is she now?"

"She said her path was taking her to the Volturi." I had heard of them; the 'Royal' family of the vampire world. I did notice that he didn't say they weren't mates. I knew many couples sometimes needed breaks, and I guessed that was what was happening with them.

"What's bothering you?" he asked.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about the couple I'm meeting tomorrow night," I covered. I realized that being around an empath meant I would need to watch myself and really keep my feelings in check. No more thinking about him while alone in bed!

"What are you looking for in a couple?" he asked. He had moved closer to where I was sitting.

I thought about my reply. "I can't put it into words. I'll know it when I see it." Then a thought occurred to me. "Jasper, you have no interest in me - my blood, I mean – well, what about Severus?"

He looked surprised. "Severus? As in the man you live with?" He paused, "Do you know vampires are normally attracted to beauty? They all taste the same to me; others say they taste different. Do I want to drain him? I do feel my throat burn when he's around. Why?"

"I thought so. You see, Severus is a potions master, and he brews a lot, even in the apartment. I thought maybe some of what he was working on was affecting my scent."

He shook his head. "No, then the others would be affected, too. I can feel their blood lust for you." He reached out and took my hand in his. "So are we going to remain friends?"

Friends? I wanted so much to feel his lips on mine, to feel his hands running through my hair. I had to stop thinking like that. I looked at my hand in his; other than the dusting of cinnamon that covered most of my skin, our skin tones were very similar. My hand looked perfect in his. I wondered if I could be just friends with him. One day Alice would return and he would no longer care if I was around.

"You're worried. Why?"

"What happens if I change? I mean, if I start smelling good to you and I'm no longer different, you'll no longer be interested in me and finding out why I don't affect you."

"I'm not Alice; I don't know what's going to happen in the future, but for now I don't see anything happening to change you."

"Alice can see the future?" He nodded. Well, that pretty much sewed it up; if there was a chance anything could happen, I'm sure she would return and keep him from me. "I can see something happening. Things could change when I have the baby. Maybe it's her and not me."

"Ginny please, if you don't feel comfortable remaining friends, just say so."

I rose and started to pace. "It's just - you see, I knew better than to trust a diary, Dad always said that if you can't see where it keeps it's brain, don't trust it. Then I trusted Draco, despite that I knew better than to trust him. He is a Malfoy and a Death Eater. I place trust in things and in people that I should know better than to trust."

"And I'm a vampire; something you should not trust. I understand. I will take you home now." He got up and started for the door.

I reached out and touched his arm. "I never did what I knew I should. I like to rebel. If I get hurt or worse I can only blame myself. I know the risks and I'm not entering into this with rose colored glasses on. I'm willing to take the risk."

He smiled at me. "I don't plan on hurting you," he assured me.

I didn't want to tell him, but I was suddenly very tired. "Why don't you use the bathroom, then I'll take you home. You're tired."

**A/N- Please leave me a review!**


	9. Caring For Ginny

**Gift Or Torture**

**Chapter 9**

**Caring For Ginny**

**JPOV**

We had just pulled onto the highway when she fell asleep. I took it at normal speed; I liked being able to watch her sleep. I was glad she was willing to remain friends with me. Over the evening, I had felt so many different emotions from her. I had felt a sexual lust coming off of her more than once. However, it was not something new to me, and coming from her, all I wanted to do was grab hold of her and make love to her. I knew that even if she felt the same about me, we couldn't. The risk to her unborn child would be too great.

Her emotions had been all over the place. I guessed this was what Carlisle was talking about. I don't understand how one could be feeling so many different things at the same time! I would have to borrow some of Carlisle's medical books for a better understanding of what's happening to her. I, unlike my brother Edward, saw no reason to study medicine. Why put yourself through that? I understood for Carlisle it was all about proving he had truly beaten this, but I knew I would never have that amount of control. I spent too many years feeding off of them. Carlisle doesn't truly know what it's like to know how they taste. I know this because yes, he has control, but it's only control; the lust is still there for him. He, Rosalie, and Bella have never tasted it; their lust is weaker than the others. Edward, Emmett, Alice, and even Esme have all tasted human blood, so it's harder for them. But I fed off humans for so long, I know mine is the worst in this family. I'm not ashamed of this.

Ginny surprised me; she knows the risks, is willing to accept them, and has even said so. If I slip, she would understand. Yet each time I was with her, I felt more sure that I could never do that to her, and now I knew if I did, I would never be able to live with myself after the fact. I was surprised how quickly she had become so important to me. She was all that mattered to me.

Each day that passed only served to strengthen what I felt for her.

She had asked me to come shopping with her one day. She wanted to get her father a birthday gift. I expected to get dragged into store after store looking at clothing.

"Dad loves Muggle things, so I was thinking that if I got him an MP3 player, you might be able to help me put some music on it for him." I already learned that while she could write up assignments to hand in, she was otherwise lost on a computer. We were walking into the mall and it was icy, so her arm was tucked under mine. I knew it wouldn't be good for the baby if she were to slip and fall. She wasn't a klutz; she simply couldn't see her own feet now.

"I'm more than willing to teach you," I offered.

I felt some sadness coming off of her. "Don't waste your time. Once I go back home, I'll never see a computer again."

"You're going back then?" I allowed her to feel my disappointment.

"My whole family is there," she said, feeling very remorseful. "Jasper, think of it like this; had your beginning in this life..." She glanced around, checking to see if anyone heard us. "been happier, would you have wanted to leave it?"

"I guess not, but still Ginny, you're doing well; you could live in this world."

"I know, but I need my family, and I need to feel loved. Being here has been hard. I never would have made it without Severus, and now you."

I knew she loved her family; I could feel the love she felt for them. "You'll stay in touch."

"Of course you'll be the envy of all the vampires with your own personal 100 year old witch stalker! Then I'll be the creepy one," she teased; the humor she felt was radiating off of her.

As I pulled the door open for her, I sent her a small amount of the love I felt for her. "You'll never be creepy."

She laughed again. "You only say that because you've never met my Great Aunt Muriel. Now she's scary! I'm very glad there is no chance of any people who might want to adopt the baby of ever seeing her. There would certainly be no chance of anyone wanting her!"

I swear Ginny was meeting couples every other night. "Another no last night, then?"

"Try a 'hell no'. They were, I think, the worst. Bad manners, even though they were trying to impress me, I swear. And understand, my people normally find Muggles like things to be clean, and these people's house looked clean, but I could see little things, like the toilet hadn't been cleaned." She paused and looked at me. "Okay, now I know I'm just sounding petty. Jasper, what am I going to do? The baby is due in five weeks!"

"I could come with you to meet people. I would be able to tell you what they are feeling."

"Thanks, but they might think, no matter what we tell them, that you're the father."

Her shopping was quicker than I expected. She wanted a very basic model because of what her father would do to it. The real reason I was brought along was so that she knew it would work with my computer.

Before we left the mall, I led Ginny to the bathroom. I was amused by the embarrassment she felt about having to go all the time. I looked at a display in a shop window as I heard Ginny speaking with someone:

"Oh, how far along are you?" came an older woman's voice.

"I'm about 35 weeks now," came Ginny's reply.

"You have such a small frame, I would have guessed you were overdue! It's amazing what science can do. When I was having my children, would you believe they still used x-rays on us?"

At least the woman wasn't talking about what an exciting time this was for Ginny.

"I didn't know that."

I was carefully monitoring Ginny's emotions; this could have the ability to really upset her. Finally Ginny, followed by a woman in her seventies, stepped out. I was right there, and I was guessing the parting comment might upset her. Ginny looked up at me and smiled.

"Oh, you two are such a good looking couple! The baby is going to be beautiful. If she's a girl, you better learn how to shoot a shotgun." The woman then turned and walked away.

I could feel Ginny shaking with laughter. "Like you would need a shotgun!"

"I don't need any gun." We both spoke at the same time.

Afterwards, we headed back out to the house. While we drove, she began singing to a song on the radio. Ginny can't carry a tune to save her sweet soul, but the reason I didn't mind was because when she did sing, the emotions she felt and put into singing was mind blowing. Clearly, the only time she sang was when she felt something about a song. When we arrived home, we began downloading music for her father.

When I was leaning over her, I noticed her scent. It was like cinnamon, and strawberries, and I had smelled it before, but I still enjoyed it. We had been listening to different stuff when she stopped. "I remember seeing Dad dancing to that one once, in his shed." She was very excited. The song was 'Let It Be' by the Beatles. As I downloaded it, she again spoke, "Mum's going to kill me for this. I don't know how she will react if Dad wants a computer next. He's the head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department at the Ministry of Magic. Truth be told, I think the only reason he stays there is so that no one would be checking out his shed. I hate to think of the fines he would be slapped with!"

There was a knock on the open door. Esme was standing there. "Ginny, you must be hungry. Why don't you come down to the kitchen and I'll make something for you."

While I wanted her to stay with me, I knew she was hungry, or at least the baby was. Yes, I could feel the baby's feelings already, but I had not told Ginny yet. I got the feeling that it would be easier on her if she didn't know the baby that way. "You go; I have a feeling of what your dad will like."

"I can't ask you to do it all," she protested.

"I don't mind, and it will be faster. The only thing that will slow me down is the computer," I gently encouraged.

While I worked, I could hear her and Esme talking. "So, how are you feeling?" Esme asked.

"Huge! And tired, physically and mentally."

"Why?" Esme asked.

"Well, I still haven't found a family for her. I'm really getting scared, to be honest. I mean, how does one choose someone to take care of their child?"

"Ginny, I'm sure it's totally normal to feel how you're feeling, and even once you find a family for her, I would guess you'll always wonder. I would never want to be in your place."

"Can I ask you something?" Ginny inquired.

"Of course you can."

"Your baby, do you still love him?" I could hear her wipe a tear and Esme move to hug Ginny.

"Of course I do. I'll never stop."

Ginny was full on crying now. "I do love her. I just can't be a mother to her! I don't want her to grow up feeling like he never wanted her. She needs to be loved by two parents." I wanted to calm Ginny, but I knew she needed to release what she was feeling.

"Ginny, the family you do pick for her will see her as the greatest gift they could ever receive. It won't matter that her father was a fool, and she'll grow up knowing you wanted the best for her."

I could hear her bite her nail. "I'm scared she'll think I didn't love her."

"Oh Ginny, no! You clearly love her so much, you're willing to give her to someone else so she will have all the things you don't feel you can give her."

After a minute or two, Ginny spoke, "I'm sorry I'm a mess. What must you think of me, unloading like this on you?"

"Sweetheart, don't worry at all. I'm happy you're willing to talk to me. Don't ever feel bad for needing someone to talk to."

Talking to Esme really helped Ginny, but at the same time it wiped her out. She fell asleep again in the car on the way back to her place. By the time we arrived, she was sleeping so hard I didn't want to wake her. So I carried her up to the apartment. When Severus opened the door, he wasn't happy to see her asleep in my arms. Without words, he led me to her room. Once I laid her down on her bed, he transfigured her clothing into a nightgown and we both left the room.

"Why are you still around her?" he accused.

"We're friends. She wants me around."

"I guess you'll be telling me she wanted to be your dinner?" I could feel how he feared for her and his anger towards me.

"No, I understand how you feel, but for whatever reason she is like no other human for me. I have NO desire to drink her."

He didn't believe me. "Don't lie to me. I saw in your own mind what you have done." His tone was condescending.

"Have you ever done something terrible that you regretted? I have done it over a thousand times, and I hate how I feel about each and every one. All of those combined are nowhere close to how I would feel if I were to do anything to hurt her."

He looked at me for a long moment, so I sent him a little of how I felt about her. "Merlin! You love her. Does she know?"

"No, and no good would come from her knowing." I could feel his feelings towards me change. They went from hating me and fear of me hurting her to understanding.

**A/N – I admit to feeling over whelmed this year with Christmas, making me become a bear. So unlike in national parks Feed the bear, with a review, hopefully it will improve mymood and my girls will start to think that maybe just maybe Santa will visit our house after all.**


	10. Found Her Family!

**Gift Or Torture**

**Chapter 10**

**Found Her Family!**

**GPOV**

Four weeks were left before the baby was due and I was starting to panic! I was still not even close to picking a family! Severus had suggested that maybe I needed to look at a magical family because maybe that's what I felt was missing. I promised that if I got to three weeks I would. He had to head back to London for a few days.

When Esme heard that Severus was leaving, she insisted that I not be alone and invited me to stay with the Cullens. I had found that I enjoyed spending time with her and Rosalie, who reminded me of some of the things I did like about Draco. For instance, the whole attitude of 'I'm God's greatest gift.' In Draco I once found it endearing, now I realize what a snob he was. With Rose though, it was clearly a byproduct of how she was raised coupled with the improvements to her that being a vampire brought.

"So tell us Ginny, how do you feel about not seeing the baby after having it?" the woman asked. I was meeting couple number 38 and at this point I wasn't even trying to remember names.

"You mean once I give it up?" I asked.

"No dear, I mean I read that if you don't see the baby after giving birth, it's easier on you to walk away."

"Well, I would like to still be a part of her life. At least to write..."

The husband had been rather quiet up to now, but he interrupted, "Look, I can tell that we want your baby. How much money would it take for you to give birth, not set eyes on her, and then never have to worry about having anything to do with her?"

"You're offering to buy my baby, and you expect me to not even see her and just walk away, never knowing anything about her?"

"That way no one would ever have to know you messed up badly," wife number 38 said.

"She is not a mistake! She is a gift! No, I may not be ready to be a mother to her, but that doesn't mean I want nothing to do with her!" I yelled. I was now standing, hands on hips. "I wouldn't give you people a kitten, never mind a baby!" I stormed out of their house, only putting my coat on once I was outside. Before I even did it up, Jasper's car was pulling up in front of the house. He was already out and helping me to the car before I took two steps. I felt him trying to calm my nerves.

Once he got behind the wheel, he looked at me. "I knew the second they opened the door they were a no."

"They offered to buy my baby!" I fumed.

"I heard, but you kept your temper in check. You should be proud of yourself for that!" he exclaimed.

"I so wanted to curse them! I think I understand now how a Death Eater would want to see them writhe on the ground in pain!"

He smiled at me. "You could never do that."

"Yes, I could! To them, hell yes!"

He looked at me intently. "So they're a big no! Let's talk this out. Maybe if you voice it you'll figure out what you're looking for."

"Okay." I shifted in my seat. "They need to be kind and caring. I need to feel that they would be cool with the fact that she's a witch..." I thought carefully about what else I was looking for. "I want a couple like Mum and Dad. They have to know each other very well. You know, where they don't need to talk about some things because they already know what the other is thinking." I suddenly realized I had already found the perfect couple! "Jasper, can you drive faster? I really want to get back to your place!"

When we arrived, Jasper led me into the house. Everyone was in the living room. Esme came up to me and wrapped her arm around me. "Another no?" she asked with concern.

"Yes, but it's okay. I think I already found the family for my baby!" I grinned.

I could tell Jasper was confused by me.

"Oh, are you going to call them?" Esme asked.

"Yes, I'm going to talk to them." I took a seat in the armchair. "I can't believe I didn't see it before!"

"Who are they?" Carlisle asked.

"They are this amazing couple. They clearly love each other more than I could ever dream. They need her, and I know she will never feel unloved with them. I think she will complete their family. However, I'm thinking she might end up a little spoiled. The reason I had discounted them was because they aren't looking to adopt. Carlisle, Esme, would you be willing to adopt my baby girl?"

I was sure I had shocked them. Everyone was quietly staring at me as they processed the information. Jasper was the first to recover. "Ginny, are you sure?"

"Yes! I have never been more sure of anything! Don't you see? It's perfect! With you guys she'll always have someone around. With the endless amount of energy children have, she'll never hear that everyone's too tired to play with her. I think, based on Draco's coloring and my own, she could pass for Esme and Carlisle's biological child, making it easier to claim to be human for you both. You'll be able to stay somewhere longer because people will see changes in her, leaving them thinking that it's really good genes or, at worst, that you get work done to look so young. You won't have an issue with her being a witch. She most likely won't feel as odd and out of place as she would with a Muggle family. And I know you'll love her!"

"Ginny, I think Carlisle and I need to talk about this alone. Do you mind?" Esme asked.

"No that's fine. Please do." They then walked out of the room, leaving Rose, Emmett, Jasper and myself.

Jasper looked at me. "Their going to say yes," he assured me.

"I know." Nothing ever seemed so right to me!

"Well, I think this is a whole new spin on that one hundred mile diet thing. Raising your own food!" Emmett said, grinning. I then heard the smack of rock hitting rock as Rosalie hit him.

"Rose, it's fine. I know how crazy this makes me seem, but I know this is right!" I hadn't felt this happy since I found out I was going to have her. I began daydreaming about how well this would go.

Fifteen minutes later, Carlisle and Esme returned. "Ginny, if we're going to do this, there are a few things we need you to understand," she explained.

"Yes?" was all I could say.

"Well, we are willing to raise your baby, but we want you to remain a part of her life," Esme continued. "She is going to need a human in her life. You, too, will be becoming a part of our family. You will have to visit regularly so she will always know that you are her mother."

I was now crying. This was exactly what I wanted! "Sure."

"We do want you to tell your family about her. They, too, can be a part of her life," Esme insisted.

"Kay!" I said, unable to conceal my happiness.

Esme turned toward Carlisle, smiling. "You're going to be a daddy!" she said as she excitedly hugged him.

Later, Jasper and I were watching a movie, 'Gone with The Wind.' He pointed out the historical errors in it, but how he did it wasn't offensive. I was lying on the couch, Jasper had my feet on his lap, and he was gently rubbing them. When the intermission music started, he looked over at me. "I need to tell you that there is a chance Rose will become colder towards you."

"Why?" I asked.

"She was very resentful of Bella for wanting to become one of us. With you willing to give the baby to Carlisle and Esme, she may decide that the baby will one day want to become like us," he explained to me as he continued to rub my feet. His cold hands felt so good!

"I don't think the baby will. I mean, like all of you, Bella was just a Muggle, right?"

He nodded.

"This baby will be a Pure blood witch. She will have her own powers, and they will start to show up at an early age."

"How early?" he asked.

"Mum says I was the youngest to do my first magic. I was five months old, the twins were three and Ron was one and a half. The twins were getting into trouble and Ron, who has always had issues with wanting attention, was screaming his head off. Mum was dealing with them, and then because I was quiet, she started supper. When she finally got to me, I was feeding myself a bottle, and it had been warmed!"

He looked surprised. In fact, I could actually feel it. "That's amazing!"

"Not really. I mean, I was a little young for something that complex, but the magic is natural for us. It's only as we learn to control other things like walking and talking that most of us lose the naturalness of doing it. We begin to over-think it, and then we need to learn how to control and master it. This little one," I patted my tummy, "comes from two very old and powerful wizarding families. One of two things will happen; she will either be very powerful or a complete Squib."

"A Squib?" Jasper asked, raising an eyebrow at me. I found it deadly sexy!

"A Squib is a non-magical person born into a magical family. It's very hard on them because they grow up in our world, but they can never really be part of it." I must have fallen asleep on the sofa soon after this because Jasper had carried me to the room I was using while staying there.

I called Severus the next morning before class. He was going to bring back some profiles of magical couples wanting to adopt. "Hey Severus, it's me -"

"Hello! You'll have to excuse me; I'm having dinner with an old friend of mine. Just give me a second," he said into the phone. After a minute or two, he finally spoke again. "Hello, Ginevra."

"An old friend? Are you dining with Lucius Malfoy?" I asked.

He chuckled. "You get an 'O' for that one. And who are you dining with tonight?" He gently reminded me I didn't have any room to talk. "What can I do for you?"

"What are you doing, speaking with him?" I fumed. "He's a Death Eater!"

I heard him chuckle again."My dear, the last time I checked, I too bear the Mark!" He then sighed. "He is an old friend."

"Yes, and he would kill me if he knew about the little project I'm working on."

"Speaking of that, how is that project coming along?" I knew he was truly interested.

"Well, I found a family for her. They're perfect!"

I could feel him smile over the phone. "That's good."

"You might not say that if you knew who they are," I said nervously.

"Who are they, Ginny?" he said warningly.

"Dr. and Mrs. Cullen." I winced and braced myself.

"MY- You're giving your child to a bunch of vampires?"

"I know, I know what you're thinking, but Severus, they are exactly who I have been looking for! I know it will never matter to them that she's not normal, like a Muggle. They will give her a life I can't. They don't care about where she came from, and I know that she will be treated as if she was their own offspring. And they still want me to play a role in her life!"

I heard him sigh into the phone. "You're sure about this?"

"I've never been more sure of anything! I'm so happy about it, too!"

**A/N- Happy new year to all. I know I won't get another chapter up till next year. But please leave me a review! Maybe your thoughts on Severus and Ginny's relationship. Thanks!**


	11. Jasper Falls a Little More

**Gift Or Torture**

**Chapter 11**

**Jasper Falls a Little More**

**JPOV**

I knew she was falling asleep, but instead of sending her to bed, I waited for her to fall asleep and then carried her up the her room. She looks like an angel when she's sleeping. As I laid her on the bed, I leaned in a little closer and kissed her perfect lips. They were so warm! It was the first time I had ever had my lips touch a human and not drink them, and I didn't even have to fight the desire to drain her! As I pulled back, she let out a whimper, which made me smile. I then headed out for a hunt. I wasn't that hungry, but I still wasn't willing to risk it.

When I returned, Carlisle met me in the yard. "Jasper, I was hoping to speak to you."

I could feel a change in his mood towards me. I have been a vampire long enough to know what it was; I was now a threat to something that was his. We are too territorial with things that are ours. Ginny is giving him and Esme the baby, therefore, whether he realizes it or not, he will protect her and the baby, even from me. "Yes, Carlisle?" I knew until the baby arrived I would need to be careful around my own family.

"How sure is Ginny about this? Esme is so excited, I don't want to see her get hurt," he explained.

"Since she decided this and you accepted, she has been very much at peace. I haven't seen her this relaxed the whole time I have known her. She does love the baby; I feel the love she has for it radiating off of her. But she knows she's not able to deal with being a parent. There's a lot she wants to do in her life. She knows that she wouldn't be able to do most of it with a child, and that not getting to do those things would cause her to resent the baby."

"She has talked a lot to you about this?"

"Yes. She worries people will think poorly of her for wanting a life of her own before having children. I think that she saw her mother give up so much for her own children. She will one day be a good mother, but right now she needs time to be selfish."

"Jasper, what is going on between you and her?" Carlisle inquired.

"What do you mean?" I asked in return..

"Well, we all know that at this point spending time with her isn't going to explain why she doesn't affect you, so why are you still spending time with her?"

I wondered if he knew where this was coming from or if he even realized he was doing it. "She's different, and there are new stories to hear, new things to discover. I enjoy my time with her."

"Jasper, are you in love with her?" he pushed.

I wondered, _do I dare voice it? Yes I do_. "She's an incredible person. Her emotions come to me so clearly, but they are softer and not as overwhelming as others. I can't explain it, but I need her."

"Does she know how you feel?"

"No, and she won't either. She needs to live her life, to get married, to have children, to grow old. She doesn't need to be tied to someone like me."

"She is now a member of this family. How do you plan on dealing with that?" he asked.

"I will forever be her best friend I will be there for her whenever she needs me."

He smiled at me. "What happens when she falls in love?"

I clenched my hands into fists at the idea. "I will never want to kill a human as much as I will want to kill him, but I won't because of what it would do to her."

"Why not just tell her how you feel? She might feel the same!" Carlisle mused.

"I, of all people, would know if she did. She doesn't, and I won't risk her knowing and having it change things for us."

I felt him slip into acceptance of what I was saying. He changed the subject. "Alice called. She'll be here next week and says she can't wait to meet her little sister."

I smiled at the thought of my ex wife; she did love family. "It will be good to see her."

The next morning, as I drove her to the university, she called Severus. I didn't need my power to tell he was still concerned for her hanging out with vampires, but he was accepting that I wasn't going anywhere any time soon. I found their relationship fascinating. He cares far more for her than he should, and she truly respects and cares for him and how he feels. I had brought him up and she did tell me his story. It was sadly beautiful. I think that part of his feelings for Ginny have to do with the fact she reminds him of former classmate Lily. However it didn't matter; he cares for her and would do anything to protect her. That's what matters to me.

Unlike my brother Edward, I do understand the value in numbers. All the more people willing to protect her, the better. Based on past evidence, he will do whatever it takes to protect her. I know she is fully capable of protecting herself, but anything extra the better.

As our class ended before lunch, my cell phone rang. It was Esme calling.

"Hello, Esme."

"Jasper, sorry for calling you, but I don't have Ginny's cell number."

I was sitting next to her, so I asked, "She's right here; do you want to talk to her?'

"Please."

I handed my cell to Ginny. "Hello, Esme!" she said excitedly.

"Ginny, Carlisle just called and told me he needs to cover a shift at the hospital. We had tickets to the symphony tonight, so I was wondering if you would join me?"

"Um, I think that would be nice, but..."

I could feel embarrassment coming off of Ginny.

"Let me guess, you never bought anything that fancy when you got your maternity wear, right?" Esme guessed right. "Did Jasper tell you that Alice could see the future? Well before Carlisle called, a package arrived addressed to you. With Alice on the case, you can be sure it's the right size."

Her embarrassment was gone. "You'll have to let me know where to send a thank you." She now felt uncomfortable.

"Ginny dear, with Alice as soon as you thought it, she knows it. I assure you she knows, so there's no need to send one. We need to leave by about seven. See you then!"

"Bye." Ginny closed my phone and handed it back to me. That was one nice thing about her being a witch; we didn't have to stop and explain every little thing to her. She knew I had heard every word Esme said.

I smiled at her. "The dress will be very nice. Alice is most likely on the phone with Rose telling her what to do with your hair and makeup. Alice's favorite pastime was Barbie Bella." I was confused because Ginny was still feeling uncomfortable about something. "What's wrong, Ginevra?"

She pressed her lips together and closed her eyes as she swallowed, then she slowly opened her eyes. "Everything about you guys screams money." She was now embarrassed again. "I don't do well in that area. I mean, I can save money and stuff like that, but I don't like money being spent on me. You see, in a house with seven kids, Mum had to stay home. With only one income, money was always tight, very tight. But I have my pride, and I don't like things being bought for me." I could tell how strongly she felt about this. I was surprised she wasn't crying. "Money was so tight, I never even thought twice when I found a diary with someone else's name on it with my school books."

I had to put her concerns to rest. I wrapped my arm around her and took her to the car. Once in, I explained, "Don't worry about money as far as we go. Carlisle always did well for himself and the rest of his family. When Alice and I joined the family, we were able to play the stock market, make good investments, and even play the lottery, all with great results. We now have more money than we will need for a very long time. The whole family enjoys spoiling anyone we can. As far as the family goes, you are a member of our family! What's ours is yours."

"No, I don't want it. Not if it means I'll become like him," she whispered. I knew a human would have never made out the words.

"Like who?" I asked.

Her beautiful eyes grew big as she realized that I made out perfectly what she had said. Then she looked down into her lap. "Like Draco."

I could feel the hurt that came off of her. "Why do you think you would become like him?"

"You remember the day we first went to the tea house?" I nodded, but let her continue. "You're like him."

She angered me with this statement. I was nothing like him! He was allowed to have her and he tossed his chance with her out the window. "I'M NOTHING LIKE HIM!" I roared at her.

I knew any other human would have been scared, but not her. "Yes you are. You left a tip bigger than the bill. Draco always did things like that. Do you remember that our families never got along? Well, he spent six years at Hogwarts making fun of me and my brothers because we were poor and his father is the richest man in the wizarding world. Looking back now, he had found other ways to remind me that I was poor when we were together. Like you did that day."

I looked at her for a second. "Ginny, it has been almost 170 years since I have 'eaten' out. I have never even looked at a menu in that time, never mind asking any of my family what is expected as a tip. I was only making sure I did nothing wrong."

Now she felt bad. "Oh, I'm sorry! I'm just overly sensitive about this. Um, Jasper, do you need to feed? Your eyes are black!"

I knew they would be because I was mad. "No. I'll be fine in a bit."

She smiled at me. "You can look rather scary," she admitted.

I smirked at her. "Then why don't I feel fear coming from you?" Instead of fear, I felt a huge amount of lust.

She looked me straight in the eyes and spoke, "Because I know you won't hurt me."

As much as I loved hearing her say that, she needed to face the truth of the risks. I pulled the car over to the side of the road, turned towards her, and placed my hands on her upper arms, holding them tightly. I wanted her scared. "You can't ever forget what I am! Or that you are my natural food source! We don't know what it is about you that causes me not to thirst for your blood, but that could change at any second. Don't ever make the mistake of trusting me!"

She whimpered in fear, and I felt her pain and her fear of me. I felt like my own heart had been ripped out. I never had been hurt as much by someone's fear and pain. I let go of her and got out of the car. "Drive yourself to the house. I need to clear my head." I took off into the woods.

I hadn't made it to the tree line when she yelled, "Jasper, I can't drive a stick!"

I was feeling horrible about scaring her like that, but I couldn't leave her pregnant on the side of the road, either. Then she started to cry and I could feel her fear of being left alone. That did me in; I ran, not caring who might see me, back to the car. I slipped in next to her as she was trying to wipe the tears away. Again I felt pride coming off of her.

This time I pulled her towards me. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." I breathed in her scent and enjoyed the feel of her in my arms.

"Arrogant vampires needing extra challenges," she muttered. "Severus said no one drives a stick."

"Don't cry," I pleaded with her. I was hit with a wave of pride that almost knocked me over. I regretfully pulled back from her.

"I wasn't crying," she tried to cover.

I wiped away a tear. "You're right. My eyes must be tricking me," I lied.

"Yes they are."

I smiled a half smile at her and felt a spike of lust coming off of her. Her emotions were all over the place.

"You need to realize most of my own kind fear me. I'm not used to not being feared."

"There are things to be more fearful of in the world," she stated simply.

I pulled the car back onto the highway and asked, "Like what?"

She looked over at me. "An idea in the hands of the wrong person or type of people."

I have been alive through seven wars, two of which I played a part in, but she made sense. "You're right there," I declared.

**A/N- Penny for your thoughts... Please let me know what you think, the only way that I can make any story better is if you tell me what you like!**


	12. Meeting the Rest of the Family

**Gift Or Torture**

**Chapter 12**

**Meeting the Rest of the Family**

**Still Jasper's point of view **

We drove in silence until we reached the house. I heard the heartbeats before we we parked. The second I opened the car door I knew, so I rushed to her side of the car. I trapped her between me and the car door. "Some of the others are here," I explained.

"Others? Like 'normal' vampires?" she asked as she looked nervously at the house.

"No, the family. Edward, his wife Bella, and their daughter Nessie." She had been told about Nessie. "And their dog. Please promise me something; while they're here, if anyone tells you to leave the room at any time, no matter what is happening, you will, without question."

She was confused. "Um, I guess so..."

"Come on, they can't wait to meet you," I said earnestly.

The second I stepped in the door, I was hit by a little force. "Uncle Jazz!" Nessie squealed with delight.

She had grown! I guess she was about the size of a ten year old now. She reached up to my face and touched my cheek, showing me all kinds of things she couldn't bother telling me with words. I took hold of her hand and gently scolded, "Nessie, slow down! This is a friend of mine, Ginny. Ginny, this is Nessie."

"Wow, that heartbeat is so fast!" she commented.

I smiled. "Yes it is. Did you have to bring the dog?" I teased her.

She got the most earnest look on her face as she nodded. "Of course, who else would play with me when Mommy makes me eat vegetables?"

"Is she still making you eat those?"

"I don't like them! I like deer more. And she smells even better!" She looked at Ginny.

"Nessie! You don't say things like that!" Bella scolded. "We don't eat family! Ginny, I'm terribly sorry! She's still learning the finer points of interacting with humans."

I could feel that Ginny felt a little nervous, but she covered it well. "Don't worry about it. It seemed my mum was always saying sorry for something one of us kids said or did. I remember one time Fred asked a street person why he didn't just transfigure his shopping cart into a car. Mum almost died."

Bella smiled at Ginny. "I'm Bella, by the way."

"Ginny Weasley." She reached out to shake Bella's hand.

"Let's meet the others," I encouraged.

Bella wrapped an arm around Ginny. "I remember once jokingly making a comment about a human friend of mine being a witch. I feel a bit better now knowing that it was at least possible."

"I had a housemate who was a Muggle born and it seemed as if our world surprised and amazed him each day. Poor Collin! He almost fainted when we found out Professor Lupin was a werewolf!"

"Bella, what about me?" asked Jacob.

"Jacob, this is Jasper's friend, Ginny. She had a professor who was a werewolf!" Bella excitedly explained.

"Ginny, this is Edward Cullen. Edward, this is Ginny Weasley," I made the introduction. I watched as he looked intently at her, reading her mind.

She looked up at him."Would you please get out of my head?"

His face went blank, then there was a surprised expression. "Bella, are you blocking me?" he asked.

Everyone else in the room then stopped.

"No, that would be me," Ginny declared. She felt violated, and there was something more.

"What is that?" I asked.

"He's in my head and I don't like it," she explained. "I'm using magic to block him out. Legillimency," she explained.

"I'm sorry," Edward began, "I'm just trying to find out why you don't affect Jasper."

"Please let him," I asked.

She relaxed, exhaling. "Okay."

After a minute, Edward spoke, "I need some time."

Rose spoke, "Well, now is not the time. Come on Ginny, let's get you ready. Esme ran out for a quick hunt."

Ginny, Bella, and Nessie followed Rose. Once they were out of Ginny's hearing range, Edward said, "I think I know why she doesn't affect you."

**GPOV **

Rose led me to her room. Once there, she handed me the dress Alice had sent. "Change first, then I'll do your hair and makeup."

I took the garment bag she was handing me and headed to the bathroom. I was still trying to understand what happened with Jasper in the car on the way here. He had scared me. I was terrified he would really leave me there in the middle of a highway! I didn't want to be abandoned again. Tom had left me when he tried to kill me to come back to life. Yes, this was a good thing in the end, but he was someone I had trusted and cared about. Harry left me to protect me from Tom, and Draco left me alone and carrying his child.

As I pulled off my top, I saw the bruises Jasper had left on my arms. I wasn't going to panic just yet. They were just bruises; nothing a little magic couldn't take care of. I then realized I left my bag with my wand in the car. _Well, maybe the dress would cover them up._ I opened the bag and found a black dress with an embroidered bodice and an empire waistline with little chiffon cap sleeves. The style was nice, but the second I saw it, I knew this dress wouldn't hide the bruises. "Rose," I called out.

"Are you ready?" She opened the door as she continued, "Or do you need help doing the zipper..." She stopped dead, staring at my arms. "What happened?"

I then saw Bella and Nessie behind her. "This is nothing a little magic won't take care of," I tried to cover.

She was now standing almost on top of me. I wasn't scared; she was very clearly concerned. "Really Rose, I got much worse playing Quidditch."

"Those are hand prints! Who has been handling you like that?" She seemed to be madder that I was covering.

"Rose, it was an accident." I grabbed the dress and pulled it over my head.

"Accidents like that don't just happen," she said.

"They do when you upset a vampire," I said meekly. I knew she would be mad at Jasper.

"JASPER HALE!" she screamed as she headed out of the bathroom with Bella following.

Nessie looked at me. "Uncle Jasper is going to get a beat down now!" She then ran out of the room "Jake!" she yelled. I followed her as a young, native man almost as tall as Hagrid came out from a room down the hall.

"What is it, Nessie?"

"Rose is going to smack down Jasper!"

The boy smiled. "This I have got to see!" He and Nessie took off towards the living room as I waddled behind at a much slower pace.

"What the hell did you do?" Rose screamed from the living room.

"Rose," Jasper said much quieter and calmer.

"Don't you dare try to use your gift on me!" I then heard a crash.

"Ginny, go back upstairs," came Jasper's voice.

I chose to ignore him. I stepped into the room and saw Jasper in an attack position, Rose circling him. Both had their teeth bared and they looked deadly. The second I stepped into the room, Jasper glanced at me so fast I almost missed it. He was at my side before I knew what happened.

His hands came up to my arms where the bruises were. "I'm sorry! I never even thought..."

"It's fine. And I told Rose that, too. I just need my wand and they'll be gone faster than you would ever guess." I smiled at him. Even I could feel how bad he felt.

"This is what I meant, back in the car," he said.

"Jasper, relax. I told you I know the risks and I won't hold it against you if something should happen. Besides, I have had much worse!" I smirked. "Remember, I grew up with six brothers."

"Ginny, these are really bad. They're almost black." It was odd; there were six others in the room, but it was like we were alone.

I looked at Emmett. "Would you mind grabbing my bag from the car?"

"What happened?" Bella asked.

"She made the mistake of letting Jasper know she doesn't fear him at all," Edward stated.

There was a collective, "Oh!" from the group. Rose, however, was still looking very unhappy with Jasper.

Emmett returned with my bag. "Can I watch?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure. Like I said, it's nothing." I took my bag and sat down on a chair, feeling very much the center of attention. I then pulled out my wand and put my bag down. I pointed my wand at the first set of bruises. "Frendo Abeo" I tapped at the biggest part twice and then made a clockwise circle. The bruises vanished. I repeated the same thing on the other arm.

"Cool!" Emmett said excitedly.

Nessie asked, "Can you do that again?"

"Rose, do you want a closer look?" I knew how much better a vampire's sight was than ours. "It completely healed."

She came over and looked hard at both my arms. "They're gone!" She then looked at Jasper. "They never should have happened in the first place!"

"Please Rose, it's fine. Let's just finish getting me ready," I pleaded.

"Fine." She got closer to Jasper, letting him know she was still pissed.

Back in her room, Bella spoke first. "Rose, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Rose then smiled at me. "You sure you're fine?"

"Yes. Really, I was more worried he would leave me then and there in the car. I never learned to drive a stick and I can't Apparate."

"What exactly happened?" I relayed the story to Rose as she did my hair. When I finished, she looked right at me in the mirror. "You really don't get how lethal he is." She gently turned me around to face her. "Ginny, we're all dangerous. I get that as a witch you aren't as scared of us as humans should be. But Jasper? Well, he has killed more of us than almost any other vampire out there."

"He wouldn't harm me," I stated confidently.

Rose looked over at Bella. "Remind you of anyone?"

"A little, I guess," Bella shrugged.

"Please, I know you're not going to change your mind, but be more careful, and give the guy an ego boost. At least pretend to be a little scared of him."

"How am I supposed to do that with him? Someone else, fine..."

Bella watched as Rose began with my makeup. "At least she doesn't hate this like I used to," Bella admitted.

"I know; Alice would have a ball with her," Rose retorted.

At the idea of Jasper's wife, my stomach turned. I hated the woman and had never even met her!

"So you're really going to give your baby to Carlisle and Esme?" Bella asked.

"Yes. I've never been more sure of anything."

"I have only seen Esme since we arrived back here, but I know she is happier than I have ever seen her. Thank you for doing this for them. I know myself that when Edward and I need some time for us, we never have to worry about Nessie because this family is so great."

When they finished with me, we headed back downstairs. Esme had arrived and was ready herself. To me, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever met, but as soon as I entered the room Jasper was at my side. "You look gorgeous."

I weakly smiled. Somehow, the new arrivals in the house had me remembering Jasper was married. I felt funny receiving compliments from a married man. "Thanks," was all I could say.

"Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, fine." I thought about the evening ahead with Esme, hoping it would change my mood.

"Are you sure?" he pushed.

"Yes, I'm just a little worried they might not let me leave the hall if I need to use the washroom."

"Don't worry; if they give you a hard time, I'll deal with them," Esme assured me.

I was surprised that Esme drove slower than Jasper. She was still speeding, but not like Jasper did. On the trip to the city she asked a lot of questions about what to expect with a witch for a child, but on the way back it was a more emotional talk.

"I'm sure Carlisle will want to go over your family medical history," she assured me. She then looked over at me. "Ginny, how do I ever thank you for this?"

"Just love her, that's all I want."

"I already do. When Bella was expecting, it was different. We couldn't see the baby with an ultrasound, so we were all very scared for her. I would like to come to your next doctor's appointment, and Carlisle will of course want to as well. I told him to just ask for your file rather than us having to listen to all the medical stuff. Unlike the others, I haven't studied medicine, and like you, I'm sure they may as well be speaking a foreign language. All I care about is that she is healthy."

"Honestly," I explained, "I went to the appointments because Muggle families would want to know she is healthy, but I don't really understand most of what the tests could tell them. I guess I just don't trust most things Muggle."

She smiled at me. "Don't tell Carlisle that, it will break his heart."

"How long did it take for you to know you loved him?"

"Well, it's not fair to look at my first year after he changed me, but I had met him ten years before that. He was the man of my dreams. No one ever compared to him!"

I smiled to myself. "That's one of the reasons you guys are the right family for her. You really are in love." I then felt the baby moving. "Esme, she's moving! Do you want to feel it?"

She looked at me wide eyed. "Can I? Do you mind?"

"Why would I mind? She's your baby." One look at Esme told me if she could, she would have been crying!

When she placed her hand on my stomach, the moving stopped for a second. "Just give her a minute. She does the same thing every time Severus goes to feel her move." Then the baby kicked hard three times. I knew with Esme's vampire senses, she felt it.

"She's strong," Esme smiled at me. "Ginny, Severus seems like someone who is rather important in your life. I was hoping that I could meet him once he returns."

_How would Severus feel about this?_ I wondered. "Did Jasper or Carlisle tell you he can be rather abrasive?"

"He doesn't trust easily?" she guessed.

"Yes, he has had a hard life. He was a spy in our war, but underneath it all I think he's just scared of being hurt."

"Will you ask him?" she pushed.

"No, I think it might be better if he doesn't have any say in the matter. We'll plan it once he's back. On a side note, he does know a lot about Draco's family because he is Draco's godfather."

"I have a feeling his story would be very interesting," she mused, smiling at me.

"Of what I know of it, it is. He did most of what he did for a love he could never have. When I heard it, I cried."

"He told you?" she was surprised.

"No. In fact, he hates that anyone knows."

"Ginny, I wanted to ask, do you mind if Carlisle and I join you in the delivery room?"

I stole a look at her. "I knew Carlisle would be able to, but I wasn't sure if you would."

"I'm not going to tell you that I have never tasted a human's blood, but if your labor is like most I will have time to hunt first, and knowing in advance there will be blood there helps. I will be fine."

"Then of course you can come," I said happily.

"Ginny, I plan to hunt each night after she's sleeping."

"Esme, I'm sure everything will be fine."

**A/N So this was an extra long chapter, that was an accident, I have been trying to stick to one point of view per chapter, we both my beta and I messed up. I said sorry but I get the feeling you guys really don't mind.**

**There a poll on my profile please take it! **


	13. Speculations

**A/N- I really don't like when Authors go back an tell us the same scene from different character views, but I felt that it was a MUST here because of the information that comes out in this chapter. Please forgive me for it, I have never done it before in all 12 other stories I have here, however there is also new stuff not seen before. **

**Gift Or Torture?**

**Chapter 14**

**Speculations...**

**JPOV **

I looked at my brother, and for a second I wondered if I wanted to know the reason.

"It's only a theory," Edward said.

Emmett was in the room as well, but at that moment Esme had returned. She had heard from outside what we were talking about. She just took a seat.

"It's not that you have no interest in her blood. She is your singer."

Was he crazy? If she was my singer she wouldn't have made it past the first few hours!

"What? That's-" Emmett said, trying to verbalize my own feelings.

"Not your vampire singer. She is, I think, your empathic singer, and maybe even more than that. I can't put it fully into words. I know you don't even realize it, but her emotions seem to dull others' emotions for you. Hers are clearer, but for the most part, gentler for you to handle. She affects you, both good and bad, like no other. Now that you have found her, you need her. The only thing I can compare this to is what Jacob feels for Nessie and what the others in the pack feel for their imprints. Your empath will not allow the vampire in you to do her harm because of what it would do to you."

It all fit! It made perfect sense! I didn't understand why, but I didn't care the reasons. I looked at the others. "Ginny is not to know about this," I ordered.

I felt surprise off of all of them. "Why?" Esme asked.

"Because she's not over Draco, and if she does at some point end up with me, it has to be her choice, not because she felt she had to."

Esme got up and came over to me. "Jasper, I don't want to see you hurt. She needs to know." She had reached up, cupping my face with one hand.

I reached up and touched her hand. "Esme, she needs her free will. I won't have her because she felt she had to. If she will be more happy with a human, I need to accept that." I could feel Esme hurt for me.

She nodded. "I need to get ready." She then left the room.

"Who would have thought the most 'vampire' one of the bunch would imprint like a dog!" Emmett chuckled, finding the humorous side to the events.

Then I felt Rose's anger spike. "Jasper Hale!" Rose entered the room looking dangerous "What the hell did you do?" she screamed.

"Rose," I said, much quieter and calmer. I tried to settle her down.

"Don't you dare try to use your gift on me!" She threw a glass vase at me.

I felt Ginny before I saw her in the hall about to enter the room. "Ginny, go back upstairs." I didn't want her in the room.

She entered anyway; we would have to work on her listening skills. Rose was circling and I knew we both looked deadly. The second Ginny stepped into the room, I glanced at her so fast I guessed she might have missed it. I was at her side ready to protect her, then I spotted the bruises on her arms and knew why Rose was upset. Seeing them now and knowing I had done that to her made me sick. How could I ever expect her to forgive me?

My hand came up to her one arm where the bruises were. "I'm sorry. I never even thought..."

"It's fine. And I told Rose that, too. I just need my wand and they'll be gone faster than you would ever guess." She smiled at me.

I sent her my feelings of remorse. "This is what I meant, in the car," I said.

"Jasper, relax. I told you I know the risks and I won't hold it against you if something should happen. Besides, I have had much worse," she smirked at me. "Remember, I grew up with six brothers."

"Ginny, these are really bad. They're almost black." It was odd that there were six others in the room, but it was like we were alone.

She looked at Emmett. "Would you mind grabbing my bag from the car?"

"What happened?" Bella asked.

"She made the mistake of letting Jasper know she doesn't fear him at all," Edward stated.

There was a collective "Oh." from the group. Rose, however, was still looking very unhappy with me. I knew any mistreatment of women was a big no-no in her book.

Emmett returned with her bag. "Can I watch?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure; like I said, it's nothing." She took her bag and sat down on the chair. She then pulled out her wand and put down her bag. She pointed the wand at the first set of bruises. "Frendo Abeo," she said, then tapped on the biggest part twice, made a clockwise circle and the bruises vanished. She then repeated the same thing for the other arm. I felt extreme pride in the fact she could do this.

"Cool," Emmett said excitedly.

Nessie asked, "Can you do that again?"

"Rose, do you want a closer look? They're completely healed," Ginny stated.

She came over and looked hard at both of Ginny's arms. "They're gone!" She then looked at me, still mad. "It never should have happened in the first place!"

"Rose, please, it's fine. Let's just finish getting me ready," Ginny pleaded.

"Fine." She got closer to me, letting me know she was still pissed.

Later, when Ginny came back downstairs, she looked amazing.

"You look beautiful," I stated.

She weakly smiled. I could feel she was hurt by something. "Thanks."

"Is everything all right?" I asked as I moved closer to her.

"Yeah, fine." Her mood lightened a little.

"Are you sure?" I pushed, wanting her to tell me what was bothering her.

"Yes, I'm just a little worried they might not let me leave the hall if I need to use the washroom." However, she was upset by something and even lied about it.

"Don't worry. If they give you a hard time, I'll deal with them," Esme assured her.

Once they left, Rose turned back on me. "Listen here, I don't care the reason. You have to be more careful with her. She is a human!"

Edward came, unneeded, to my defense. "Rose, trust me, he never meant to hurt her. In fact, he can't hurt her without causing himself even more pain. It's like she is his imprint and singer to his empath rolled into one."

"But he did hurt her! We all saw the bruises," Rose insisted.

"Rose, I never meant to," I said. I then sent her some of the regret I felt upon seeing the marks on Ginny.

It knocked her back. She was shocked!

"I can't begin to describe what both Jasper and Ginny are thinking when together. Most of it I don't even think they realize they're doing. Jasper, when you saw the bruises on Ginny, all you could think was that you did that to her, and what if she could never forgive you. All she was thinking was to relieve how you were feeling, and how to calm Rose down. You all saw it; it was like the rest of us stopped existing to them," Edward explained.

"None of the wolf pack has ever seen anything like that either, not that I've asked, but... wow! I think I sensed it too, because if anyone should have reacted to seeing the human marked like that by a – one of you, it should have been me." Jacob said.

We all knew he was right. I found I couldn't wait for Ginny to return. I just needed to be near her. I sat on the back deck alone, thinking about what this meant. My thoughts were interrupted by Jacob.

"Shit, man! I can't even think how I would have felt if I knew nothing about imprinting and then it happened. I could ask Sam. I'm not sure if he knew about that part of this wolf thing."

Once you got past the whole wolf thing, he was really not that bad. "Once Edward said it, it all made perfect sense," I admitted.

"Hell man, you could do worse!"

I could feel his awe and admiration of Ginny, and it caused me to give him a cold look as a growl raised in my throat.

"Calm down! A guy can look, can't he? Just because I appreciate the view doesn't mean I want to buy the window. I just mean she could have been an old, ugly hag. You got lucky." His mood was for the most part light, but like always he was at the same time careful around me. "You really don't plan on telling her?"

"It's not like you and your imprints. If she was with me, she couldn't have a child." He and I both looked at each other, knowing otherwise. "I would never allow her to risk herself like that. Edward was dumb and reckless with Bella."

I would have had to have been a blind, deaf, and stupid human to not have known at the time Jacob felt all those things about Edward, even thought we had no idea she could have become pregnant. However, I also knew how he felt about Nessie. Edward was right; it was similar, but not the same.

"How will you handle it if she ends up with someone else?" he asked. The idea wasn't something he ever wanted to face.

If I could, I would have cracked my knuckles. "I don't know. For all I know, Draco, the father of her baby, could show up tomorrow. I can feel how she feels for him. I'm sure if he did show up and want her back, she would be gone. But every second he doesn't return and no one else arrives, I can position myself as her best and closest friend."

"It's not a fun place to be," he stated. I knew he spoke from experience.

"It's better than not being there at all."

"You're a glutton for punishment," he told me.

"What would you do if Nessie decided she wanted someone else? You would have to become whatever she needs, but what if, once she's old enough, she doesn't need a lover?"

The wolf shuddered at the idea. "I see your point."

I then heard Esme's car pull onto the road to the house. I headed into the garage. Carlisle had arrived home an hour before and he had been filled in on what Edward was thinking. I knew that deep down, under controlled conditions, he wanted to test what would happen if she were to bleed in front of me.

There was no way I would even put her in that situation! I made my way to the door and waited for her to come in. I could feel she was tired, but then I felt sadness.

**A/N So what do you think about the reason Jasper does not want to drain her? Is it an amazing idea on my part or is it just another lame fan fiction idea?**

**I also have a poll question on my profile!**


	14. The Dog Days of Pregnancy

**Gift Or Torture?**

**Chapter 15**

**The Dog Days of Pregnancy**

**GPOV**

When Esme and I got out of the car, I realized that Jasper would most likely be here. While part of me was happy I would be seeing him, I knew he was married and I shouldn't be feeling this way about him. As I asked myself why I had to have even met him, Esme looked at me and asked, "What's wrong, dear?"

I bit my lip in an attempt to stop myself. "Nothing. I'm just really tired."

"Today has been a long day for you. There has been a lot of tension, and that takes a lot out of you." She opened the car door for me. "You should head to bed, or would you like something to eat first?"

I saw Jasper standing not far from the door. "No, I'm just going to take a bath and slip into bed."

"Are you sure? I could make you something while you relax in the tub."

I smiled at her. "You and Mum would get along really well. Always worrying about whether people have eaten well enough. I remember someone once saying that if Voldemort showed up at our door, Mum would offer to feed Voldemort first, then hex him! No, I'm good. I'll just grab a glass of juice and take it with me."

"Ginny," Jasper greeted.

"Jasper." I knew it was almost a whisper I used.

"Can we talk?" he asked.

"Is it about earlier?" I asked as I headed to the fridge.

"Yes." He was almost standing on top of me.

I stopped and turned to face him. As I looked up into his face, I started, "Jasper, I told you it's fine."

"I'm not fine with it," he said.

"I'm really tired; could we please talk in the morning?" I tried to put him off. I was ready to go to bed and I didn't have the energy to keep my feelings bottled up. Before he could reply, my phone rang. I pulled it out of my purse and saw it was Severus. "It's Severus," I explained, mentally thankful of his timing. "Good night." I hit the talk button. "Hello Severus," I greeted him warmly.

"Ginevra, how are you doing?" he asked.

"Good. Tired, but good. So, are you heading back now?" I asked as I headed up the stairs.

"That's why I was calling you. It looks like I'll be here for a few more days. I was concerned because you're so close to your due date."

I was disappointed because I knew the Cullens wouldn't allow me to head back to the apartment if I was going to be alone. I loved being around them, but I knew the more time I spent with Jasper, the harder I was falling for him. "No, don't worry about me as long as Esme is around! I don't think my own mother would take such good care of me. Just don't tell Mum that!"

He laughed at that. "Yes, Merlin knows how Molly Weasley would react knowing one of her children thinks there's possibly a better mother out there than her."

"She would kill me for even thinking it!" I was always at ease with Severus. "So what's the hold up this time?" I entered my room, but didn't close the door.

"They found Rookwood and they want a fast trial. Both Lucius and I will be giving evidence over the next couple of days. Your father was hoping you would come home for this trial. He, Arthur, is hoping Rookwood will admit to killing Fred."

"Did he?" I asked as I sat down on the bed. The twins were always my favorite brothers.

"I don't know myself, but Lucius thinks so. However, even that's second hand."

I remembered seeing Fred's body, and the memory made me cry. I suddenly felt like it had just happened. "How- how much longer will you be?"

"Three more days, I would guess. Ginny, don't cry; you know Fred wouldn't want that," Severus told me.

"I won't." I lied and hit 'end' on the phone, tossing it aside and falling back on the bed. I began to sob. Having a snowball effect on me, it went from Fred to missing my family to Jasper. I was sobbing so hard I didn't even notice Jasper enter the room, but I feel him effortlessly pick me up and hold me in his arms as I cried.

After a few minutes, he finally spoke, "Darlin', what is it?"

"They- caught the – guy- - who is-be-lieved to- have -killed -Fred," I sobbed. I couldn't calm myself down and over ten minutes later, I was crying even harder. I never even registered Jasper call Carlisle to the room.

Carlisle ended up giving me an Ativan to help calm me. "It's safe for both you and the baby," he assured me and Esme. "Jasper, stay with her and keep up what you/re doing. It's most likely just her being tired, pregnant, and the result of a long day."

Once he left, Jasper kept hold of me, rocking me and whispering to me, "I'm sorry for upsetting you earlier today." I remember us slowly stopping before I fell asleep.

When I woke up, I was under the covers, but I knew I wasn't alone. I turned over so see Jasper lying beside me. When I looked at him, he smiled at me.

"You're calmer this morning."

I remembered how upset I got and that I had been crying. I don't cry; I hate to cry. I had let others see me cry! I knew my face was turning beet red with embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it. Carlisle says it's normal for you to be more emotional," he assured me.

"What are you doing here with me?" I asked as I wondered what the others would think of me laying here with him.

"I've been calming you all night long. Carlisle was a little worried about how upset you were." I nodded.

"I should get up; we have to get to class." I started to shift to get out of bed.

Jasper stopped me. "Our class ended about ten minutes ago. After being upset like that, I felt that if you were sleeping there was no point to waking you."

I glanced over at the door, seeing as it was open. Well, at least people could see nothing was going on.

"I hear Esme making you some pancakes. Do you want to get up?"

All I wanted was to spend the day in his arms, but I quickly reminded myself he wasn't, and would never be, mine. Then I realized I had to pee. I was jumping up.

"Where's the fire?" he asked.

"I need to use the bathroom."

He smiled at me. "I didn't think you could move that fast!" he teased.

"I just might surprise you with how fast I can move when I don't look like a beached whale," I said, patting my baby tummy.

"Trust me," he said, coming closer to me, "You don't look like a beached whale." He then reached out and moved some hair out of my face. "You're far too pretty for that."

"I need to pee!" I quickly moved away from him. In the bathroom I replayed his words... 'too pretty'. Humans were pretty, but vampires were beautiful. I could never, ever, compare to his wife.

When I made my way downstairs, Esme was still cooking breakfast for me. Carlisle was sitting at the breakfast bar reading the paper and the others were somewhere around. I smiled to myself; this was why I picked them for my baby. They were similar to the relaxed upbringing I had, but at the same time they could provide the things that were lacking from my childhood. Whether I liked it or not, I was sure the baby would inherit some of the snobbishness of the Malfoys. There was no way she could be Draco's daughter and not have some attitude!

Carlisle looked up at me and smiled. "Ginevra, good morning."

"Good morning Carlisle, Esme," I greeted, then looked at the amount of food she had cooked. "Esme, there is enough here to feed an army!"

She looked down at the food, then shook her head. "Not an army; just you, Jacob, and hopefully Nessie will eat a little."

"You really make her eat human food?" I asked.

Carlisle smiled. "She is part human, and we still don't know what her body needs for vitamins. She might prefer blood, but I think she needs a balance."

I grabbed a plate and took two pancakes, then spread some butter on them, and then poured maple syrup over them. Jasper had come into the kitchen and looked down at my plate. "Shouldn't you be eating more than that?"

"Normally, yes, but I feel like my stomach is the size of a walnut." I then took a seat across from Carlisle; he smiled understandingly at me.

"Ginny, when Severus returns I know you're going back to the apartment, but I'm not comfortable with you taking public transportation." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. "I want you to have this."

It was a car key.

"Carlisle, I'm pretty sure Ginny isn't comfortable with this," Jasper stated for me.

Carlisle looked at me and I nodded. "Ginny, I just don't like the idea of you dealing with standing on a bus or walking from the train..."

"I appreciate the thought, but please don't."

Jasper moved to stand beside me. "Ginny, if you don't want Carlisle's gift, how about we arrange an alternative?"

I looked up at him and saw he was looking at Carlisle. "What kind of alternative?" I questioned.

"Anywhere you have to go, no matter the distance, one of us in the family will drive you," Jasper suggested. Again, he looked at Carlisle, who nodded.

"I can't ask you all to put yourselves out like that!" I protested.

"We all have literally an eternity of time. It would be no problem."

"I-"

"Ginny, you're due in just over three weeks. Please, I would feel better if I knew you were safe," Esme said.

I remember what Jasper had said about her using guilt to keep everyone in line. It worked like a damn. "Okay, fine."

She smiled. "I finished the nursery last night," she stated, changing the subject. "I went with a Wizard of Oz theme. Do you want to see it?"

I smiled at her. "Sure, as soon as I'm done eating."

**A/N – Next chapter Alice arrives! How will she affect Jasper and Ginny? Leave me a review and maybe I'll update sooner.**


	15. The Return of the Wife?

**Gift Or Torture?**

**Chapter 16**

**The Return of the Wife?**

**JPOV**

Esme led Ginny to the room next to hers and Carlisle's. Two days before, it was his study. There was a dark hardwood floor partially covered with a gold rug shaped like a road that went from the doorway to the crib. The walls were painted in a mural, so behind the crib was the Emerald City, on the wall opposite to the door stood Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, and Toto the dog, the wall to the left had a forest, mountains, and a small castle complete with the flying monkeys and the Wicked Witch of the East, and the wall straight ahead showed a tornado beside the closet doors, now painted to look like a prairie. The bedding was a blue and white checker pattern with curtains to match, however the curtains were tied back with pink bows.

I knew Ginny liked the room, but she was also confused. "This looks great, but what is the Wizard of Oz?"

Ginny was then made to watch the movie. When the Witch from the East showed up, she laughed. "That has to be the ugliest woman I have ever seen!" she chortled.

Once the movie was over, we talked about the Muggle world and their odd beliefs about the supernatural. "Yes, and every bad witch looks like that thing from the movie," she said sarcastically. "Actually, Bellatrix Lestrange had a rather sexy, Goth look going. If I was into older women of the slutty variety I would have gone for her, and she was one of the worst Death Eaters! The whole Malfoy family is rather pleasing to look at, too." Then she frowned.

"What?" I asked. I once thought I would never want Edward's gift, but with Ginny I would kill for it.

"Tom, when he was younger, was attractive, but when he returned he looked more like a snake than a person. I guess on that one the Muggles weren't that far off. True evil is not a pretty thing."

I was once more driving Carlisle's Mercedes today. After classes, I would drive Ginny back to the apartment she shared with Severus. I didn't want her to return there! Not because of him; just because it felt so right for her, even though a human, to be in our family home. She fit right in. Hell, she even got along with Jacob! But I would be lost without her. She could understand the darker parts of my past and wasn't put off by them. Or she could joke around with Emmett. Or tell a story, mostly about her brothers Fred and George. I loved feeling her emotions; they were all so pure and honest. The other emotions around me became like background noise when she was near me.

The one that hit me the hardest was the love she felt. I would pick it up best when we would talk about the baby, but it was always there. For her own family, for Severus, for my family, and even for Draco. Okay, the last one I hated and wished would go away!

She was my... I don't think there is a word for it. Mate or singer wasn't enough. Imprint seemed wrong as well because dogs have imprints, and even if vampires did too, shouldn't I have know that the second I saw her? She was who I was meant to be with for all time, and all I wanted to do was lay claim to her! But I knew how I would feel if she felt she had to be with me. That is the bad thing about being an empath; I can feel everything and there is no lying about how you feel. It's there, and if she was with me because she felt she had to, I would feel her resentment of me. To love someone like I love her and not feel it back would be hell. If she wanted to be with me, I would be the happiest person on earth. I knew how I felt when she was feeling lust towards me; it was heaven. But it was mostly due to being pregnant that made her feel that way. At least I know some of it had to do with the things about a vampire that are meant to draw a human in.

While she was staying at the house, each night I would have her lay on her side and give her a back rub. I took my time and she would fall asleep. I could then watch her sleep for hours and slip out before she woke up.

And when I had to leave to hunt, she would fit in with the whole family. She got along very well with Rose, which is amazing. Rosalie doesn't allow anyone other than Emmett, Carlisle or myself to get that close to her. I think it's because Ginny is very comfortable with who she is. She doesn't have as much self doubt as most humans do. Rose's ego doesn't bother Ginny in the least; she seems to find it a little funny.

As for the family, Esme loves her; there's no other word for it. Yes, a part of it is the fact that Ginny is giving Esme her child, but that's not the only reason. Carlisle adores her, and I have even felt an extremely protective feeling coming from him. Emmett sees she gives Rose another woman to talk to and he also loved seeing her do magic. Bella and Edward haven't had as much time with her, but Eddie enjoys how her mind works. Bella likes that Ginny isn't scared of me or any of us, and Bella keeps telling us she wasn't the only crazy human. Nessie finds everything Ginny says interesting. I think Jacob worries a little for her like he used to with Bella, with the exception of when she is with me. However, the main thing I get from him is pity for me. Rose thinks she is a little crazy, but if Ginny is going to let a baby be around, then it's alright in the end. She also enjoys the bit of tomboy that comes out in Ginny.

"It will be odd without you at the house," I said, wanting to hear her talk.

"Your family has been so good to me! I don't know how to thank them." I could again feel her love of my family.

"I'm pretty sure that they don't think you need to thank them," I informed her.

"My mother raised me to show appreciation for the things others do for you."

"You know, with each thing you say I think that the world I was raised in isn't that different from the world you were. My family weren't big plantations owners, but when I look back I think my brightest memory of my mother was her sitting at the writing desk writing out thank you cards. It seems that's all I can remember her doing."

She was sending out a wave of curiosity. "I wonder what it would have been like to be a Muggle; to not know about the world I grew up in or to not have grown up in fear."

"Do you really think humans don't have fear? I think the Jews in Europe before and during the Second World War had fear," I stated as though it was proven fact.

She was now confused. "I hate to sound dumb, but I know that the Second World War had something to do with the Jewish people, but I don't know what it was about," she admitted.

She had, over the time we knew the truth, told us about the reasons for her war and the beliefs of the Death Eaters. "It was rather similar to your war," I began, "One man who gained control had almost an entire race of people wiped out because of their coloring. Men, women, children, it didn't matter... well, it did a little; if you were able to work, you lived longer in his work camps. If they got sick, they were killed. The Volturi wanted to step in, but they felt they couldn't without exposing us." I could feel her mourning the children. "I won't go into details; you wouldn't want to hear any more."

"Thank you for not," she said gratefully. "Esme and I have plans for her to meet Severus tomorrow after my appointment. How do you think that will go?" she asked, changing the subject.

I wanted to lighten the mood a little. "I think she'll take one look at him and say 'to hell with Carlisle' and we'll never see either of them again!"

She smiled at me.

The next day, when I arrived home from classes and a hunt, I found a pixie perched on the end of the sofa. I hadn't seen Alice in almost a year and a half! As soon as I entered the room, she jumped up and hugged me. She was very happy and excited, but at the same time she was trying to hide something from me.

"What is it?" I asked.

She smiled at me. "Let's go for a walk." She took my hand and led me to the door. We had never lived here, but she walked around like she had been here for ages.

Once we got outside, I asked again, "What is it?"

She looked down, then back up at me. "She grounds you, don't you think?"

I could feel pain coming from Alice. "How long have you known about her?" I countered.

"Since November of the year before she was born," she said as we continued our walk.

"You never said anything?"

"At the time, we still needed each other. I knew about her back then, but I didn't know how important she was until about a year ago."

"Is she why you left?"

She took a seat on a rock and looked at me. "Jazz, I will always love you, and while the type of love I feel for you has changed, I knew it would be hard to be here and watch you go through this with me watching for both of us. I'm not going to lie; seeing you with her does hurt."

"Alice, I'm -"

"Don't, Jazz. I'm not telling you this to make you feel bad. It's not your fault and it's not mine; it's fate. We were meant to be together for a window of time, and I know that somewhere out there there is someone for me. It's just not my time."

I squatted down so we were face to face. "She's what you called about, isn't she?" Then I could hear and feel Ginny. She was at the house. Esme must have brought her. "She's here; do you want to meet her?"

Alice looked toward the house for a second. The feeling coming from her was confusing me. She was desperate to keep me out here with her, yet scared and excited about something. "In a bit. Why are you waiting to let her know how you feel?"

I leaned forward, resting my forehead on hers. "She is in love with the father of her baby. I can't force this on her."

As Alice reached up to my face, she looked unsure of herself. "How do you know that?"

Alice and I spent over 50 years together, and while we weren't about to fall into bed together, there would always be a level of intimacy between us. It's impossible to be that close for that long and to end on good terms for there not to be. "I feel it," I stated.

"Jasper, are you sure you're feeling the right things?"

Then I felt sadness coming from Ginny. I needed to go and check on her. "Let's go." I stood up and offered her my hand.

"She'll be fine for a while longer," Alice said. "She has the whole family with her."

I looked back at the house. "She's upset about something. I have felt this before from her."

"What do you mean?"

"From everyone else, I get the general feelings; happiness, sadness, lust, anger, fear. With her, they are more clear because there is a difference. The love for the baby is different from the love for her family, or ours. I know that difference. I didn't know what it meant before, but as I have come to know her, I learn what each variation meant."

"And you felt this before? What does this one mean?"

"Ginny doesn't talk about it, so I'm not sure. But it is sadness, hurt, jealousy, and a desire to able to talk about it."

"Jazz, maybe it's how she's feeling about the baby and giving it away."

Alice's idea was the most likely reason. It made sense, and I felt it here at the house the most. I hear Rose's car speed off.

**A/N next chapter I going to change thing just a little … We will hear things from Roses Piont of view, and there will be another arrival... but who?**


	16. Arrivals

**Gift Or Torture?**

**Chapter 16**

**Arrivals**

**GPOV**

Carlisle met me at the school and then we drove over to the doctor's office where Esme was waiting. The appointment went smoothly. They didn't get excited over hearing the baby's heartbeat on the Doppler, but I expected that. The appointments at this time were all the same; hear the heartbeat, be weighed and measured, have the chance to ask any questions I had, be told if I go into labor or if my water breaks to go to the case room at the hospital, and then book the next appointment. Carlisle had booked extra time to go over my file with my doctor, so Esme and I left the doctors to do that.

She was very excited to meet Severus, so we headed to the apartment. As soon as I opened the door, I knew he wasn't home. "Come on in, Esme." I didn't bother saying he wasn't home; I knew she knew. I walked over to the table where a note was standing for me:

_Ginny,_

_I was called back to London. I should be back tomorrow. Do at least try to eat something. _

_Or I might have you move in with those vampires! At least you eat for them._

_Severus_

I smiled at his note. I looked up to see Esme looking at a picture Severus kept of Lily Evans. "Who is she?" Esme asked.

I waddled closer. "This is, I think, Severus' most prized possession. That's him and Lily Evans when they were about fifteen. Severus, only a few days later I would guess, made the mistake out of anger of calling her a Mudblood. I don't know if she ever forgave him." I paused, "He left a note; he had to Apparate back to London. He'll be back some time tomorrow."

She looked at me. "Then you'll come to the house?"

"Just let me grab a few things. Feel free to look around, but don't go into the study. Severus is always experimenting with potions. Funny, at school he wanted badly to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, but in his spare time he still works on potions."

Once in the car, Esme inquired, "You're not eating at home?" The concern was clear in her voice.

"Not as much as Severus seems to think I should. He expects me to eat the same amount as a teenage boy would! I eat, but along with no interest in food, I also have no room. Most of the time a glass of milk will fill me up."

When we got to the house, Esme said she wanted to go hunt, so I headed in and went up to the room that had become mine. I loved the view here. As I looked out the window, I spotted Jasper. He was kneeling in front of some female with his forehead resting on hers. While I couldn't get a clear look at her face, I knew it must be Alice. His wife had returned! He was now lost to me! I watched for a few seconds as I realized there was no way I could stay here, in the same house, as them. I knew how hurt I would be. Being upset like that wasn't good for my baby!

I fought back my tears, but I wasn't going to make it another minute! I had to leave now, before I faced Alice and made like I was happy Jasper's wife had returned. I needed time to mourn what I had known would never be.

I went looking for any of the Cullens and finally heard sounds coming from the garage. I opened the door to see Rose bent over the engine of an older, sporty looking car she had been working on restoring. I swallowed back tears. "Rose?"

She looked up at me and smiled. "Ginny, are you here for the night?"

"No," I lied. I felt for my cell phone and pulled it out. "I just got a message. I need to head back to the apartment. I have to take care of something magically that just came up. Esme went for a hunt. Would you mind taking me? Please!" I don't know how I got it all out without my voice cracking.

"Sure, just give me a second. Get into my car." She pointed to a red, two door car. I slowly headed for it and slipped in. Rose had washed her hands, grabbed her keys, and got in herself before I even closed my door.

She looked at me intently. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, fine," I lied again.

She pulled the car out of the garage and took off down the road. I was happy to be getting away from the house.

"Alice arrived today. You didn't get to see her, did you?"

"No," I lied a third time.

"Ginny, what's wrong?" She looked over at me.

"Nothing, I just have to Floo home."

"Floo?"

"Like phone, I guess, using one's fireplace."

She just nodded.

**RPOV**

We drove in silence. I was allowing Ginny to focus on what was bothering her. I knew she was upset, but she needed time to work out what was upsetting her. I think part of the problem is that she and Jasper are in love with each other, but for whatever reason they won't talk about it with each other.

Suddenly, I smelled a foul odor; I always hated early spring.

"Rose? How much do...Oh Merlin! Rose, stop the car!"

I looked over and saw her face contorted in pain. "What is it?"

"The-" she screamed in pain, "baby!"

It wasn't some funky, spring melting thing I smelled; it was Ginny's water that broke. I had pulled over.

"Bloody hell! OH FUCK!" she screamed.

I took her hand. "Ginny, it's just a contraction" As she squeezed, I was surprised at how strong she was. When Bella called when she was expecting Nessie, I read everything I could about labor without it being clear to the others what was happening. This was Ginny's first, so it should take awhile. Her contraction should be ending. "Ginny, breathe like this." I showed her how to breathe, but as one minute became two and it wasn't stopping, I started to panic. What if magic pregnancies were different? She was breathing like I told her to. "I'm going to call Carlisle." I reached for my cell phone and dialed Carlisle's number.

"Hello?"

"Carlisle, I'm with Ginny. She's in labor!"

"Are you sure?" he asked, sounding hopeful and concerned at the same time.

"Yes, her water broke."

"How far apart are her contractions?"

"She's only had one, but it's lasted almost three minutes now." I knew he could hear her breathing. "She's in a lot of pain."

"Rose, where are you?"

"We're on the highway a mile from the sign that says 39 kms to Edmonton."

"I don't like what I'm hearing. Rose, you're going to have to check her. There might be some blood. Give her the phone while you check her."

"I need to check you." I jumped out, went to her door, reclined her seat, and helped her remove her panties. "Talk to Carlisle."

I handed her the phone. "Carlisle?" she said between breaths.

I could hear perfectly everything he said. "Ginny, relax. You need to be calm for the baby."

As I checked her, I didn't need a doctor to know this baby was about to be born! "Carlisle, she's crowning."

"Rose, use Ginny's phone and call 911 for an ambulance." I reached into her pocket and plucked the phone out, dialing 911 immediately.

"This is 911, do you have an emergency?" asked the Operator.

"Yes. I'm on Highway 14, west of the 39 kms sign by about a mile. My friend is about to give birth and I need an ambulance."

"How far apart are..." the Operator started.

"They won't get there in time. I'll get there first, but I'm about ten minutes away," Carlisle said.

"My dad is a doctor; he's on another cell phone. The baby will most likely be here before you guys or he reaches us. He's going to talk me through this. I'm in a red Honda Civic." I explained, then hung up the phone.

"If we need anything, they will have it. Ginny, you need to do as Rose and I tell you. Rose, please tell me you hunted today?"

"Yes."

"Do you have a shirt or something to wrap the baby in?" he asked and I pulled off the layer top I was wearing and placed it on Ginny's tummy.

"Rose, it's real easy; just like playing catch, unless the umbilical cord has wrapped itself around the baby's neck. You'll need something to tie the cord off with. Don't worry about cutting, just find the cleanest thing you can."

"My bag! There is some thread," Ginny offered. Her face was red and she was clearly upset, worried, and panicked.

"Ginny, breathe! Rose, are you ready?"

"Yes," I replied as I steadied my nerves the best I could.

"Okay Ginny, it's time. You need to push, so bear down and push. Rose, if she starts to tear, have her stop. She'll need to take it slower. The head is easy to pass; it's the shoulders that will be the hardest."

"Ginny, you're doing fine," I looked up and assured her. I looked down and saw the baby's eyes looking up at me. I knew I would be crying if I could. "Come on Ginny, the head is almost all the way out!"

"Rose, once the shoulders are out, she'll just slip right out," Carlisle stated.

Ginny stopped pushing for a second to catch her breath. When she stared again, she ripped really bad. She was bleeding. "Carlisle, hurry! She's bleeding."

"Ginny, take a deep breath. Rose, don't breathe; don't think about it. Look at the baby. She needs you to help her. I'm almost there. You should see me in about two minutes."

Finally, the baby was out! I placed her on Ginny's stomach and covered her with the shirt, then I grabbed the thread and used it to tie off the cord. I smiled at Ginny. "You did it!" I heard Carlisle's car pull up behind mine and him jump out of the car. "Carlisle's here."

"Thank you, Rose," Ginny said.

"Kitty, you did it! Ginny, how are you doing?" he asked. She started shivering. "She's going into shock. Rose, there is some baby stuff in the car. Take the baby and wrap her up." He used his nails to cut the cord and then took the baby from Ginny and handed her to me I took her to his car and was hit by a wave of heat when I opened the door. I sat in the passenger's seat and reached for the bags in the back seat, finding a few thick baby blankets to wrap her up in. She was about 4 lbs 13 oz and her hair was a light color, but still too matted with blood and afterbirth to tell for sure the color. She was perfect!

**A/N- I know that this labor seemed really fast and that some may say it never happens like that, but sometimes it does! I know a woman who went from her water breaking to the doctor literally diving to catch the baby before it hit the floor five minutes later! And this baby is a magical baby, so please give me some room to work here!**


	17. Recovery

**Gift Or Torture?**

**Chapter 18**

**Recovery**

**GPOV**

I woke up in the hospital. Esme, Carlisle, and Rose were in the room. Esme was feeding the baby. Carlisle looked at me and smiled. "How are you feeling?"

The others looked at me. "I don't think I want to do that again! Is she okay?"

Esme beamed and stole a quick look down at the baby. "She's perfect. Small, but perfect. Do you want to hold her?"

I nodded. Esme came over and placed her in my arms. I was surprised by how small she was. "Hello there," I said softly to her. She opened her eyes. Her eyes were brown; not as dark as mine, but more towards the golden end of things. It took me by surprise because I had seen most of the Cullens' eyes turn this shade about three days after they last fed. I started to tear up. She and I connected; she knew I was her mother!

"Ginny, if you change your mind, we will understand," Esme said.

I looked up at them. "No, this is right, this-" I looked down into her eyes, "proves I made the right choices."

Esme sat on the bed next to me and wrapped her arm around me. "Ginny, while you're giving me a chance to be her mom, you will always be her mother. Never forget that."

I knew she meant they would never keep me from her. "Does she have a name?" I inquired.

Esme smiled. "I was thinking Elizabeth Weasley Cullen."

"She likes Elizabeth, and I thought Weasley was fitting," Carlisle offered.

"I like it."

Rose smiled. "Do you realize," she asked of Esme and Carlisle, "Any redheads who have had an affect on our lives of late are named after British Royalty? Victoria, Ginevra, which is a variation of Guinevere, and now Elizabeth."

"What happened? How long was I out for?" I asked.

"You went into shock. You've been out for a couple of hours, and you tore quite badly. You have ten stitches."

"Dad had those once; Mum wasn't too happy about it."

Carlisle smiled at me. "I would love to hear more about magical healing."

"Severus would be a good place to start. Has anyone called him?"

Esme smiled. "Yes, and he will be here in a couple of hours. He said to tell you he's thinking of you."

When Severus arrived, Carlisle, Esme, and Rose had just left. He stood near the door staring at me for a few seconds. Snape finally came over and looked down at the baby. "She's very small."

"She was early, but the doctors, Carlisle mostly, says she's healthy."

He smirked. "I'll put more weight in what the vampire says over these Muggle doctors." He gave a little shudder. "At least he's going on more than what a machine is telling him. Can I hold her?"

He took her carefully from my arms and appraised her. "She's too young to tell who she will look like. I, of course, saw Draco for the first time when he was about a week old. The first time I saw you, you were almost two. I was chosen to ride the train with the students after Bill's first year. Molly was very excited to see Bill." He looked down lovingly at the baby; after a minute or two he looked back up at me. I'm pretty sure he had tears in his eyes. "Ginevra, are you really sure you want to give her away?"

"Severus, you pointed out the dangers to both her and I months back, but that danger is not gone. I'm no closer to being ready to be a single parent. This is right. Look, the Cullens are better suited to protect her from the likes of Lucius Malfoy than a Muggle could ever hope to be. They want me to be part of her life. I know you don't like them because they're vampires, but they're good people."

He moved over to the bed and sat down facing me. "Do you know what you're in for? You won't be there for her first word. Or you'll never be sure what she's like when she's just with them. Or that you won't be the person she wants when she's hurting, and that that will be Esme. Or to not see her each Christmas morning. Are you ready to live like that?"

"Severus, I'm sure. If I wanted to move in with the Cullens, they would let me. They're just as worried about these things as you are. No, I made the right choice."

"If you're sure..." I was surprised at just how concerned he was.

"I am!"

I was kept in the hospital for three days because of the fact that the delivery was on the side of the road in a car. During that time, Esme and Carlisle came each day, as did my case worker from the adoption agency, a lawyer, a social worker, and even some of the girls from a couple of my classes came to see me. But Jasper never came. Each time the door opened, I hoped it would be him. And every time it wasn't, my heart broke. He didn't even call! And I wasn't going to call him and interrupt his time with Alice. I was scared that if I did, I would hear her happy in the background. I couldn't do that to myself.

During my last night at the hospital, Esme came to see me and Elizabeth. "Ginny, how are you feeling?" she asked as soon as she entered the room.

"Sore," I admitted.

She gave a little frown. "I remember no one had told me about the flow of blood after giving birth! I thought I was dying until a nurse asked me about it. Remember, back then women didn't talk about stuff like that." She came over and took Elizabeth from me, then sat down and held her lovingly. She then continued, "The others are missing you. Carlisle and I would like for you to finish your recovery at the house with us."

I couldn't do that. "No, I would feel like I was putting you all out."

"Ginny, you're a member of our family; you wouldn't be putting us out," she insisted.

"No, you need time to bond with her without me around," I tried pushing back, trying to call on my inner Molly Weasley.

"I'm not taking no for an answer! Everyone misses you and Alice can't wait to meet you."

That night after she left, I tried to figure out what to do; how to get out of going there.

The next morning, Carlisle and Esme arrived to take me and Elizabeth home. Carlisle came in carrying the car seat and Esme had a beautiful pink diaper bag with her. As she changed Elizabeth, Carlisle and I filled out the last of the paper work. I slipped him a note:

_I need to speak to you without Esme hearing. Please._

He read the note and nodded. Once Esme was finished dressing Elizabeth, Carlisle spoke, "Dear, this is it. Why don't you take these down to the desk? I just want to check Ginny before we leave." He handed her the paperwork that needed to be filed. Once she left and he was sure she couldn't hear us, he asked, "You're not planning on coming to the house, are you?"

I shook my head. "I can't." I stepped towards my own bag and pulled out a letter I wrote the night before. "I explain it all here. I just need some time. I'll send you an address where you can contact me."

I could see understanding in his eyes as well as hurt. "Ginny, I wish you would reconsider." I shook my head. "Fine." He reached into his pocket and took out a small box. "Every member of our family wears this. It's the Cullen family crest. I got one for you. You are a member of this family and you are the mother of my daughter, so you will always have a home with us."

We both knew I was fighting back the tears as he took a gold necklace out of the box and placed it around my neck. "Esme will be heading back soon. Just give me a couple of minutes, please. It's all I need." I walked over to Elizabeth. The tears were burning my eyes. "Elizabeth, I love you, and I know I picked the best family out there for you. Trust me, if you're anything like every other Malfoy I know, you'll only accept the best. Know no matter what, I love you and I have done what's best for you." I then kissed her and handed her to Carlisle. I only mouthed the word 'goodbye'.

He looked into my eyes. I knew he didn't want to do it like this, but they turned and walked out.

**A/N kay I know it was a really short chapter... but a very important one. Please I had one of the worst weekends ever I need a pick me up, so leave a review!**


	18. Gone Baby, Gone

**Gift Or Torture?**

**Chapter 19**

**Gone, Baby. Gone.**

**JPOV**

From the minute I knew Ginny had left the house, I was worried. Then hearing how Rose delivered the baby on the side of the road almost killed me! What if something had gone wrong? Thankfully, nothing had. I was glad I hadn't been there. What if she started bleeding and I lost control?

I was going crazy without seeing her, but I knew better than to try to walk into a hospital! I knew I wouldn't last three minutes. But I was going crazy not seeing her. I had thought about calling her, but decided against it. Talking to her would only make me want to see her more. I would want to feel her emotions, so I waited each night for Esme to return and fill me in on my Ginny.

I was very pleased when Esme said on Ginny's last night that she had agreed to return to our house.

The next morning, I paced the house like a caged animal, waiting for their return. I wondered how she would look without her baby bump. I worried that the tearing I heard she had would be affecting how she moved. I wondered how childbirth had affected her emotionally. I also wondered if having the baby had affected her feelings toward Elizabeth's father. I hoped it had! Finally I heard Carlisle's car turn off the main road, but I didn't hear Ginny's heartbeat, only the baby's.

The others came out at the sound of the car. Other than Rose, none of us had gone to the hospital. Edward and Bella felt they hadn't known her long enough. Emmett was scared he would slip and have Rose mad at him. Personally, I don't blame him; she can be rather intimidating. And I don't live with the fear of her cutting me off sexually! Alice said it was not time for her to meet Ginny yet.

When Carlisle entered the house, there were, of course, oooh's and aaah's over the baby. I won't lie; Elizabeth is as beautiful as her mother, and her hair was red like Ginny's! I was surprised that while she smelled good, she didn't smell edible. I guessed it had to be an effect of Ginny being her mother; to hurt Elizabeth would hurt Ginny, and I could never do that!

As the girls all gushed over Elizabeth. Carlisle came over to me. "Jasper, she left."

"Why?" was all I could muster.

"She left a note, to all of us." As he pulled it out, the others gathered around.

_To my dearest Cullen family,_

_I know you all thought I would be returning to the house with Carlisle, Esme, and Elizabeth. But I just can't! However, I know in my heart that I chose the right family to raise Elizabeth. I do mean family, not just parents!_

_Rosalie- I know that you will be like a second mother to Elizabeth whenever Esme can't be around. Thank you for that!_

_Emmett- You I know will be like the best and favourite parts of my own brothers all rolled into one monster brother! It makes me happy to know she will have that! Just don't become too protective; it gets rather maddening! Trust me, I know!_

_Edward, Bella, and Nessie- I haven't known you as well as the others, but from the minute you all arrived, I saw that you help make the Cullen family whole._

_Jacob- I did get to know you more than Edward and Bella, mostly because we both ate the same stuff. I know with you around, Elizabeth won't feel too out of place because she's not a blood drinker. Thank you!_

_Carlisle- I have seen what a great father you are to your adult children, so I'm sure that you will be a_ _great one to Elizabeth. You are one of the kindest and most compassionate people I have ever met! And it is a bit of a relief to know someone in Elizabeth's life has some British background!_

_Esme- Since I have known you, you have been understanding and supportive of me even before I asked you to adopt Elizabeth. I loved feeling your motherly love, and you have helped me through a very hard time in my life. I know that even if I could have made a perfect mother for Elizabeth, she would never have been able to come close to you. Merlin knows, I tried to at least find one._

_Jasper- You have been a great friend, and I thank you for that. I'm so very happy that you have Alice back in your life and I wish you all the best!_

_Alice- I never met you, but you're very lucky to have Jasper._

_I know you'll take great care of Elizabeth. I hope you won't hold it against me, but even knowing you're the right family for her, it is still too hard to even think about being close to her right now. Please let her know I love her with my whole heart. _

_I don't think the postman has ever been to my family home and I don't even know the address to give you for it. But I will let you know where you can reach me._

_Love, Ginevra Weasley_

I knew this wasn't an 'I need some time' letter, but instead was a good-bye. My world had left me! Everyone else knew the same thing. Esme let out a dry sob. Carlisle rubbed her back.

Ginny had left and never even let us say good-bye, and she didn't even face me! How could she do that to me? I know she knew I cared! I had sent her a small amount of what I felt for her, but even that was an amazing amount. Did I mean so little to her?

"You meant the world to her," Edward said.

"Edward," Alice said softly, so as to not wake Elizabeth, who was in her arms.

He looked over at her. "No Alice, he needs to know. Jasper, Ginny loves you. But you have gotten so used to being around us who understand how your gift works that when you sent her your feelings, she didn't understand them. Most of the time, she thought she was simply feeling a stronger wave of her own feelings. For the important things, you two never talked at all.

"Ginny believes you and Alice are still married and in love, and that Alice just needed some time away. When she saw you and Alice talking, she mistook the closeness you two have for the two of you still being together. Her heart broke. She knew that with all the pain she was feeling, she could never hide that from you, and therefore she ran. She found Rose first and asked to be taken home."

'_Why would her heart break?_' was all I really focused on.

"She loves you, and not as a friend," Edward explained.

'_But she loves Draco.'_

"More of you relying on your gift. Jasper, what you thought was her love of Draco was actually her comparing you to him and the love she felt each time she realized you weren't him! All of this could have been avoided if you had just talked," Edward continued.

He was right, but I realized something else. I turned on my ex-wife. "You! You knew this all along! You kept me out there talking the other day, knowing she was watching. How could you know what was going to happen and not have told me or at least stopped it from happening?" I was advancing on her.

Alice looked down at the baby in her arms, and I could feel her fear. I didn't care about her fear; she did need to feel it! Carlisle stepped between me and Alice. I felt his concern for Elizabeth and his disappointment in Alice. "Jasper," he said warningly.

Then I felt extreme hurt coming from Alice. "Of course I knew. I have known for nearly twenty years."

I never felt such hurt and self loathing coming from her.

Alice continued, "I have seen what was going to happen. I have tried to work it out every which way, but there was no way I could without changing the end result. Do you have any clue how hard I tried? Do you understand what it is like to know what's going to happen, what has to happen, and not be able to change it? Knowing my whole family would hate me for knowing, and not having stopped it. But there was no way to stop it."

Ginny loved me, but she thought I was still in love with Alice? I had to get to her before she left! I had to explain it all to her. I had to not just have her feel the full amount of my love for her, but show her and tell her! I turned on my heel and left. I jumped into my Mustang and pushed that car like never before. I raced to the apartment she shared with Severus. Once there, I took the stairs two at a time and then ran down the hall to her apartment door. I could only hear Severus' heartbeat in the apartment. I was too late, but I'm sure he wouldn't have let her leave without knowing where she had gone.

I banged on the door impatiently. I then heard the lock unlocking and the door swung open. When I entered the apartment, I found him sitting at the dining room table. He looked dishevelled and was slumped at the table with a bottle of bourbon in front of him. He looked up at me. "How dare you come here?"

"Ginny! I-"

"Don't you dare speak her name!" he shouted at me. As he spoke he rose, knocking over the chair in his intoxicated state.

"She left without saying good-bye," I tried to explain.

"Yes, she did. Why would she bother to say good- bye, just to have her feelings thrown back in her face? To have her heart stomped on? No! She has too much pride to let that happen, just like the rest of the Snapes!"

The emotions coming from him were all over the place. He was mad; no, pissed off, hurt, he felt love for Ginny, yet there was regret as well. "What do you mean, 'just like the rest of the Snapes?'"

"You heard me; I know how perfect your hearing is!" I knew he felt quite talkative, so I waited for him to continue. "Ginny is really a Snape."

"Does she know this?" I asked.

"No, and if you know what's good for you, you'll forget I ever said anything!"

"I can't do that to her."

"You don't understand! Right now, she is a Pure blood witch from one of the most respectable families in our world. If she were to know the truth, she would be a half blood daughter of a Death Eater."

"And you're happy with this?" I challenged.

"Happy? That the brightest thing in my sad life can never know that I'm her father? No! But it's for the best."

This was major stuff here. "How-"

"It doesn't matter. But trust me; she's happier not knowing!" He sat back down. "Now you have totally broken her and she will become bitter and hard."

"No! This is all just a misunderstanding! You see, I'm an empath. I send and receive emotions. I spent these months thinking what I was receiving from Ginny was a result of her pregnancy, or thinking her feelings were for the father of Elizabeth. I never wanted her with me because of guilt, so I never told her how I felt. I did sent those feelings to her, not realizing she didn't understand what I was sending her."

"It doesn't change the fact that you're married and your wife has returned!" he spat at me.

"Yes, Alice returned, but I'm not married! She returned to meet the newest members of our family! I love Ginny, I need her, and I plan to spend every second I can making it up to her! But first I have to find her." Something changed. I felt understanding from him.

"She Apparated to her family home."

"Please, just tell me where," I pleaded.

I felt sympathy coming from him, but stronger and clearer was loyalty to Ginny "I can't. I know the town, but her home is still heavily protected. You wouldn't be able to find it. Even as a vampire, the spells used to protect it are very strong." As he spoke, he went blank emotionally to me.

I walked back down to the car feeling like a condemned man. I badly wanted to break something! When I reached my car, Alice was sitting on the hood. Her head was cocked to one side.

"Jasper, this isn't anywhere close to being finished! And," she jumped down off the car, "I am sorry for the things I still can't warn you about, but I have seen you finding her. We have to get you ready to find her. Come on!" She reached her hand out and took mine. "I have lots to do. First stop, the house."

**A/N A big chapter as far as information goes... what do you think? Please feedback means the world to me!**


	19. Lost, Then Found

**Gift Or Torture?**

**Chapter 20**

**Lost, Then Found**

**GPOV**

I had been home for two days now, but when I first walked in, Mum knew something was wrong and that I wasn't ready to talk about it. She gave me the time I needed, but now I needed to talk to somebody. I knew Dad was gone for the day and Ron had long since moved in with Hermione and Harry. I slipped down to the kitchen where Mum was working. "Mum, I'm ready to talk about what has happened to me."

She looked at me and smiled. "Sure, dear. Should I put on a pot of tea?"

I nodded and she set about making the tea, then joined me at the table. "Promise you won't get mad?"

"Of course not, dear."

"I didn't leave because I wanted to learn more about Muggles. Mum, you know how I trusted Tom." She frowned, but nodded. I knew it wasn't one of her favourite parts of my childhood. "I did it again. Mum, I got pregnant by Draco Malfoy. I thought we were going to be together, but I was wrong. When I told him, he laughed in my face. I was nothing to him."

Mum was not surprised. I guess after having seven children, she knew all too well how a body could look after having a baby. "I knew you had something happen; that you had a baby, but Draco? Ginny, is that why you left?" Mum asked.

"Yes."

"What exactly happened?"

"Professor Snape knew what went on and he helped me relocate so I could decide what to do next. I was taking classes and I had the baby, a girl. I gave her up for adoption to a wonderful family."

"And that's why you're so upset?"

"No. You see, I'm a fool, a complete and total fool. I met someone there; in fact, it's because of him I found this family. Once again, I knew better than to trust him. If I had had a brain in my head, I would have run the other way from him as fast as I could. Instead, I got close to him, and let him get close to me. I fell in love with him. I knew he was a vampire, and I still fell for him."

"A vampire!" Mum exclaimed.

"It gets worse; the family that adopted my baby? They're all vampires." Mum gasped and tears started building in her eyes. "No Mum, they're not like that. They don't feed on humans; they feed on animals."

"That's not possible, Ginny!" Mum said as she rose and began pacing.

"Mum, it is. Carlisle, the head of the coven, has such good control of his blood lust he is a Muggle doctor! Please Mum, even Professor Snape is reasonably okay with this. They are the most amazing family. I had the baby in a car on the side of the highway, and Rosalie, one of the coven, delivered her. I have no doubts about them and I'm really happy about that. It's Jasper that I'm hurt about; but I'm not mad at him. I'm mad at myself. You see, I knew from the start he was married; yet I still fell for him. Alice, his wife, had been gone, but returned the day Elizabeth was born."

"I have a granddaughter! That I'll never get to see!" Poor Mum didn't know what to react to first.

"No, Mum. If you want, the Cullens will happily let you see her. That was one of the conditions they put on adopting her; that my family would be told. Mum, they wanted me to move in with them. I couldn't, though, because of Jasper."

The following week I continued in my personal hell. During the day, to anyone I was around, I tried to be my normal happy self. Really, it wasn't as hard as one would think. It was easier because Jasper had never been a part of this world, so most of the things that would cause a memory to occur weren't there. He had never been to my home, so the house was a completely safe place.

However at night, alone in my bedroom, I would see his face. I swear I could hear his voice. All my memories of him haunted me after dark. I even missed how he would whisper, "Sweet dreams" to me each night when he rubbed my back while I fell asleep.

I think I was beginning to go crazy. It should be hurting less each day without Jasper, not more. On day three back home after talking with Mum, I went into town and got myself a post office box, then sent a note to Esme with the address so they could contact me if Elizabeth needed something.

By day five, I just stayed in bed. It hurt so very much, but I soon realized that sitting and thinking about what could have been would never help me get over this. No, I needed to continue with life. I had to show myself I would be fine without him. After all, most of it was just him dazzling me, right?

Ten days after I sent Esme the letter, I finally decided to go and check my post office box. I did miss Elizabeth, too. I longed to know how she was doing and a selfish part of me hoped she was missing me.

"Mum, I'm heading into town. I'll be back in an hour or so."

"All right, Ginny. Take a sweater; it looks like it might rain," Mum warned me.

Somehow, I'm not sure if it was the time away or becoming a mother myself, but I didn't mind her motherly worries as much as I used to. Once outside and away from the shutters of the house, I realized it was a beautiful day, even if it was cloudy. I took my time wandering to the town that was a few miles from the house. It was spring and I always loved spring the most.

As I walked, I tried to think about what I wanted to do with my life. Dad commented that Holyhead was having some open try-outs next week, but I knew it was too soon after having a baby, especially with how bad I had torn. Never mind even trying to sit on a broom! Maybe I could try out next year. In the meantime, perhaps I could get a job in a shop, either here in town or on Diagon Alley.

With a goal in sight and some plans for the future made, I felt like I could maybe see a bit of light at the end of this darkness.

I think I have been in this town maybe fifteen times in my whole life, but it doesn't take more than three times to know where everything is! I could have walked here blindfolded and not have gotten lost. I swear, some of the posters in the shops haven't changed in my lifespan.

I saw a young boy teasing his little sister and it made me smile. I remember my own brother Ron doing similar things to me. I continued to watch them as I walked into the post office. Then I heard music being played on a guitar. I turned my head and saw Jasper standing there. He was looking perfect as always, dressed in blue jeans and a blue, button up shirt. In his hands was a guitar, which he was playing, then he started singing:

_"I can't hide the way I feel about you anymore,_

_I can't hold the hurt inside,_

_Keep the pain out of my eyes, anymore,_

_My tears no longer waiting,_

_My resistance ain't that strong,_

_My mind keeps recreating a life with you alone,_

_And I'm tried of pretending I don't love you…"_

I didn't need to hear any more. This was the most romantic moment of my life! I threw myself into his arms. He captured my lips; he was demanding and passionate. The coldness of his lips did nothing to put out the fire I felt. The whole world melted away, leaving only Jasper and I. When I had to break away to breathe, I pulled back and rested my head on his chest, still holding him. After a minute or two, I pulled back just a little more, looking up into his face. "You came!"I exclaimed.

He reached out and moved my hair out of my eyes. "You left."

It then came back why I left. "You're married!" I tried to pull away, but he held me close.

He smiled at me. "You're wrong."

"But she-" I noticed his guitar was now resting on his back

"Come with me and I'll explain." He took my hand in his and led me out to the town square and a park bench. He sat both of us down so we could look into each other's eyes. "Alice and I were married till about three years back when we realized that while we loved each other, we were no longer in love. I know you saw her and I talking, but understand that after fifty years of being someone's lover, there is a level of intimacy that will linger for a very long time. I will touch her in innocent ways that don't mean anything real, but others will take it to mean more than it does. I have gone almost three years without seeing her, so we haven't had time to learn how to be near each other without it seeming like we're together. But. I'm. In. LOVE. With. YOU!"

"But you never came to the hospital!" I exclaimed. It was all I could come up with.

He smirked a me. "Tell me what I am."

"A vampire."

"So why might I not come to a hospital? All I wanted to do was see that you were okay."

"But you said my blood doesn't affect you."

He took hold of both my wrists, brought them to his nose, and then he inhaled. "You smell like strawberries and cinnamon. No, there is no burning in my throat for your blood. However, you weren't the only human at the hospital."

"You never even called! I thought you were too busy with her."

He cupped my face in his hands. "Ginny, if there was any doubt in my mind, this time away from you proved it to me. I love you, but how do you really feel about me?"

I swallowed hard. I was scared to tell him, but I could tell how much he needed to hear it. "You're right, I did see you and Alice. I felt like I would rather have an Unforgivable cast on me than have to watch you two together. Jasper, I know I love you."

He kissed me again! With the amount of passion he put into it, I was scared he was going to make love to me right there on the bench! He pulled away. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing at all." I went to kiss him again.

"Ginny, we need to talk, really talk," he said as he stopped me.

"'Kay, but let's not do it here in the town square. Come on, I'll show you the house I grew up in." I rose and he timed himself perfectly with me. "We can talk on the way."

Once we were out of town, he spoke, "Ginny, I need to explain something. First, stop and look right at me." I did as I was told. "I'm going to send you the feelings I have for you. You need to understand what I'm doing."

I then felt as if I was wrapped in the biggest, warmest blanket of love I could ever dream of!

"What you're feeling is my love for you. I have spent a long time sending people my emotions and they understood what I was doing. I did the same thing with you, not thinking you wouldn't understand what I was doing. I thought you knew how I felt about you at least to some degree. I should have explained it to you. I also felt love coming from you, but I assumed because of when I felt it that you were still in love with Draco. So I never asked for anything from you." He paused for a second, "Please Ginny, think about how you feel about me. I need to feel it."

I did so and he started to smile.

"We think we know why you don't affect me, but I didn't want to tell you before because I never for a minute wanted you to feel duty bound."

"Why? Why don't I affect you?" I asked.

"You know how Bella was Edward's singer?"

"I'm the opposite? You hate the smell of my blood?" I know I had hurt in my voice and I hated sounding pathetic.

"No, we think that you're like a singer to my empathic self. Singer isn't the right word, but let me explain; from that day in the stairwell, your emotions were and are stronger than any others for me. But in a good way. You weaken or mute all others' emotions for me. Did you notice in the post office it was like everyone else melted away when I came near?"

"I thought that was because I missed you so much!"

"No, and it happened that day when I left bruises on you, too."

I thought back to that day. "You're right!"

"Ginny, I can't go another day without you. And the reason I never phoned when you were in the hospital is I knew speaking on the phone would only make me want to see you more. Had I known what you were thinking, I would have taken the risk."

"But we still have so much to figure out," I stated.

"Darlin', we'll have all the time in the world."

I started to panic! "Jasper, are you asking me to become a vampire?"

He stopped me and made me look at him. "I would never ask that of you," he vowed, "but I am begging you to spend your life with me."

I couldn't believe this was happening! "Um, I think I need another kiss before I can decide."

"Your every whim is my greatest desire," he vowed, then pulled me into his arms.

**A/N** **Sorry you had to wait so long it's been a little crazy here at home!**


	20. Explaining His Convictions

Gift Or Torture?

Chapter 21

Explaining His Convictions

JPOV

Kissing Ginny was no different than kissing Alice or any other vampire I had kissed, except for the fact that I felt like I was in heaven! Her lips and her whole body was so very warm. I had to remind myself that just because she didn't affect me like all other humans, she was still one of them and therefore had to breathe!

This time when she broke away, I felt her happiness. Next to her love for me, it was the most wonderful thing I ever felt. "Is this crazy? I mean, we have only known each other a few months and we have never even been on a date!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Does it feel crazy?" I asked.

She beamed at me. "Yes, but in the best way possible."

"Then it's not crazy; when it's right, it's right. Ginny, are you sure about this? We will never have a child of our own."

She looked at me and I felt some wonderment. "But Bella had Nessie, didn't she?"

"Yes, and it would have killed her if Edward hadn't changed her. It almost killed her anyway, and the Volturi wouldn't be too happy."

"I didn't much like being pregnant anyway."

"I'm never going to age," I pointed out.

"Are you going to still want me when I'm old?" I felt fear from her.

"Always," I promised her as I pulled her into an embrace.

"Jasper, I'm sure. I know at some point it will become weird, but we'll cross that bridge when the time comes. You should be able to see the house from here." She pointed at a building down the road. I don't think there was a straight board in the building, but it had been her home. "It's nothing grand, but there's tons of love there."

I smiled at her. "Just because I was raised in the South doesn't mean I lived in a mansion. I came from a middle class family, so your house looks perfectly fine next to what we had."

"Do you want to meet Mum and Dad?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course I want to meet the people who raised you! But Ginny, I was waiting for six days for you to come. Let me go for a quick hunt, then I'll meet you there."

She smiled. "Can I come and watch you hunt?"

You could have knocked me over with a feather when she said that! I stopped her from walking and ran my hands over her face. "I hate that about myself, and I never want you to see that."

"You're worried it will scare me, right? You think I'll see you as a monster." She knew me so very well. "If I see that Jasper, you're not a monster. Trust me, I have seen true evil. You, even when it involved humans, weren't killing them because you wanted to, or because you enjoyed it, or even because you could. You had to, to survive. You never walked into someone's home and tortured them until they begged for death, then killed them. That's what Death Eaters did for fun. They're evil. They're the monsters."

"I didn't need to feed off of the newborns I killed," I reminded her.

"No, but it was either kill or be killed, right? I love you; nothing will ever change that. Nothing! But if you don't want me to see that side of you, I respect that. Besides, I should go ahead and explain things."

I couldn't have found a more understanding woman anywhere, anytime. "You never said anything?"

"Well, I told Mum, and she told Dad and the boys, but I'm not supposed to know she told them. They all were worried, but I think it will be okay. Now that you have seen the house, you'll be able to find it."

She raised herself up on her tiptoes and kissed me again. "Hurry back!"

I held her close to me. "I will, and I love you!" I wasn't going to let her forget it.

As I took off hunting, I thought about how I got here. I went from being ready to rip Alice to sherds to being happier than I ever dreamed. Alice took me back to the house and packed a bag for me. She didn't tell me every detail; only that I needed to take the guitar with me. She sent me off to London with the promise that as soon as Ginny decided where she wanted anything sent, she would text me. I was then to go there and wait for Ginny to arrive.

For six days, I waited for her to enter the post office. I could faintly feel her emotions, and at night I tried to find her. However, because her scent didn't affect me much, that was of no help I may as well have been looking for a mushroom. And while I could feel her, I simply couldn't locate her home. Then, this afternoon, a feeling of her started growing stronger and stronger. When I knew she was outside the office, I was ready to run for her until Alice sent me a text message saying, 'Stay there.'

When I saw her, it was the best feeling ever! Her feelings raced by me; before she saw me, she was feeling lost and alone. Seeing me caused shock, and then as she realized what my song was saying, there was hope and love.

She was willing to spend her life with me! I had already decided when she passed I would not be long behind her.

After my hunt, I headed for her home. As I got closer, I felt her happiness and some concern. Then I could hear her conversion. "Dad, he's very nice. He downloaded all the music on the MP3 player I sent you, and I'm sure he'll know more about how electric plugs work."

"Ginny, I know you think very highly of him, but you have to understand my concerns about my little girl being with a vampire."

"Daddy," Ginny's voice sounded pleading, "He's not like that. I don't understand; three days ago, and even this morning, you were okay with this. Why the change?"

"This morning he wasn't here, and you weren't ready to take off with him," Arthur explained.

I felt his worry for her as well as his love. I wonder if he knew she wasn't his child. I had to go and pick one of the girls that has two men loving her as their daughter. However, just from this man's feelings, I knew he wasn't the force to worry about. Severus was clearly the more dangerous of the two. I walked up to the door and knocked.

The door swung open and a plump woman in her 50s stood in front of me. Her hair was red, but not the deep red Ginny's was. I was pretty sure this woman was not Ginny's real mother.

"You must be Jasper," she said warmly. "Ginny, he's here! Come in." As I entered, I could tell she was looking me over. I felt she was the type who could tell if a thread was loose on my shirt. She was measuring me up to see if I was good enough for Ginny.

"Mrs. Weasley, it's a pleasure to meet the woman who raised such a wonderful young lady," I greeted, turning on the Southern American charm.

"Don't you try dazzling me!" she said, unimpressed with me.

"Mum, it's not intentional. Jasper was very charismatic as a human, plus the Southern manners he was raised with," Ginny defended me as she came over and placed herself at my side with her arm wrapped around me.

"Ginny, your parents aren't comfortable seeing you this close to me," I informed her.

She got defensive. "Jasper, that's not it. They can't curse you with me here," she said, looking at her father.

I sent her a calming wave. "Perhaps if we all sat down, we could get to know one another."

Mr. Weasley seemed to be taking the 'I'll sit back and watch' approach to me.

"Yes, and let's start with when you fed off you last human," Ginny's mother said as we all took a seat at the kitchen table. Ginny sat across from me and her parents at the head and foot of the table. I could tell without my gift Ginny was mortified by Mrs. Weasley's question.

I smiled. To be honest, I would have been very concerned if her family was just alright with this, but I could tell Ginny was dying of embarrassment. "The last time I intentionally fed off of a human was over fifty years ago. I have slipped a couple of times since, and I won't lie to the people who are so important to Ginny. My most resent almost slip was five years back. There are no excuses for the fact that I was about to feed off of my brother's human mate."

Ginny groaned, for she wasn't at all happy I told them that.

"However, Ginny is the oddest human I have ever met because I have no bloodlust for her whatsoever."

"How is that possible?" Mr. Weasley asked, definitely not believing me.

"Daddy, how can you have trusted Remus Lupin, and he was a werewolf, and not be willing to give Jasper a chance? Look at his eyes; are they red? Or even black? No! Right there that should tell you something! I could have just lied to you and this wouldn't be happening!"

"Darlin', back up! A werewolf?"

"Yes! Remus was a member of the Order of the Phoenix and a welcome guest in this home a number of times!" She was very upset.

I reached across the table and took her hands in mine. "Ginny, these people are your family, so it would be wrong if they weren't very worried about us being together. Please let me calm you." She nodded. "You see Mr. Weasley, I'm an empath as well as a vampire. With Ginny here, we're not positive why I have no bloodlust for her, and I'm not willing to take the chance to find out. Ginny seems to be like...there really aren't words for it. A vampire is said to have a singer, one whose blood calls to him like no other. Ginny's emotions are like that for me. She grounds me, and when she's near the emotions of others are not as strong. When she's near it's like nothing else matters. Her blood does not interest me because, we think, that to hurt her would destroy me."

"And how do you know all of this?" Mrs Weasley asked.

"My brother, the one whose mate I tried to drain, has his singer for his mate. He reads minds, including the thoughts one is having that they don't realize they're having. We also know a group of shapeshifters, Have you heard of imprinting?" As magical persons, they knew about all magical creatures, including shapeshifters.

Arthur nodded.

"My brother Edward says what he gets from us is very similar to imprinting."

They both were very quiet. Finally, Mr. Weasley spoke, "You said brother…?"

"My coven, as most would call it, think of ourselves as a family. There is Carlisle, the leader, and his wife, Esme, who adopted Ginny's child. He thinks of himself as our father and Esme as our mother."

"Mum, Dad, it really doesn't matter to me what you think. This is what I want," Ginny stressed.

"Ginny, family is important and they need to be okay with this," I reminded her and sent her more calming waves.

"Gin-bug, look, I'm not completely comfortable with this, but I know you and once you have made your mind up, there's no changing it," Mr. Weasley reasoned.

Mrs. Weasley then looked at me. "I once killed to protect her. I won't think twice about doing it again."

"Ginny, what is your mother talking about?" I asked, surprised. Just the idea of a world without Ginny was enough to send me spinning.

"A Death Eater tried to kill me with the Killing Curse during the final battle, so Mum finished her off. She was Draco's aunt."

My phone then started ringing, "Excuse me, please." I pulled it out and looked at the caller ID; ESME.

"It's Esme," I told Ginny. "Hello Esme."

"Jasper, Alice said it would be alright to call now. Can I talk to Ginny?"

"Yes, hang on. Ginny, it's for you." I handed her my phone. I could feel her nervousness.

"Hello Esme," Ginny greeted.

"Ginevra, do you know how worried I was about you?"

"I'm sorry, Esme. I knew if I told you I was leaving, you wouldn't let me go." Ginny was already feeling bad for upsetting Esme.

"Esme uses guilt to keep us all in line, She already thinks of Ginny as a member of our family," I explained to her parents.

"Tell Jasper it's rude to speak about his mother that way," Esme said to Ginny. I smiled and nodded at Ginny.

"He heard. How is Elizabeth?"

"She's good. She's growing; not anything like Nessie, for this is much more natural. Edward says she knows you're missing and she is missing you. Ginny, we all want you to return."

"I miss her, too. As for returning…"

"Say the word and I'll book the flight," I told her.

"Soon Esme, soon. There are still a few things I need to deal with here. Jasper will call and then you will know when. Tell everyone I said 'hi.'" I watched as she hit the end button. I could feel Mr. Weasley's curiosity about the cell phone.

"They all miss you," I told her.

She handed me the phone. "Book us a flight, but I still want a couple of days here before we go back."

"You're going back then?" Mrs. Weasley said.

"Mum, I need to. Please try to understand."

Her parents accepted it. That evening, when I said I needed to be leaving, the disappointment that Ginny gave off almost brought me to my knees. "Darlin', I'll be back tomorrow. I promise." We were sitting on a bench in her yard.

"I just hate the nights," she admitted.

"Why do you hate the nights?"

"Because during the day, I could pretend it didn't matter, but at night, alone with my thoughts..." I could feel the pain she had endured each evening.

"Not tonight, I promise! When you go up there, once you've changed, you're going to climb into bed, fall right to sleep, and have only sweet dreams. I'll return in the morning." I then pulled her close to me and kissed her.

"He's- no, they're kissing," Mrs. Weasley said from the window where she was watching us.

"If he can kiss her like that, I think his control might be reasonable around her," Mr Weasley said.

I stayed nearby until she did go to bed, then sent her an extra dose of fatigue to help her sleep. Then I left.

The next morning, I arrived at the house Ginny lovingly called The Burrow. I wanted to be there when she came down in the morning. I also admit I did dazzle her mother just a little. Molly, as she had told me to call her, was sitting at the table with me.

"So what do you drink then?" she asked with genuine curiosity.

"Mostly larger animals, like bears, elk, or whatever is around."

"Why do you choose to do this?"

"I won't lie, Molly; my past, my history, is not pretty or nice. Your natural fear of what I am is very valid. Ginny knows all of it. Before I started living like this, I felt the fear of everyone I killed before I killed them. It got very depressing, and to me, an animal's emotions are not as strong, so it's far easier this way."

"What do you mean by 'not pretty or nice?'" she inquired.

"Let's just say the Volturi have killed most of the people who would have had a similar history to mine. I was allowed to continue because of my gift. As you know, we have photographic memories. It's a greater punishment to let me live with my memories."

"Was it immortal children?" I was surprised she knew about that.

"I'm not that old, no. I played a major role in the vampire wars." Her eyes grew large.

I then heard Ginny coming down the stairs, so I turned to greet her. The second she saw me, a smile lit up her face. "You're here!" She wrapped herself around me.

"I missed you, too," I said, then I gave her a quick kiss.

"Did you book our flight?" She was excited about returning to my home.

"Well, I talked to Alice and we either fly out tomorrow night on the red eye or wait a week."

**A/N I received a flame this week on one of my stories so I want to ask do you guys feel I don't know my facts well enough?**


	21. The Great Protector

**Gift Or Torture?**

**Chapter 21**

**The Great Protector**

**GPOV**

I had wanted to pick up a few things from Diagon Alley for Elizabeth; some things every witch should have. So Jasper and I went shopping! I also wanted to stop at a sweets shop. I had told Jacob about Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and though he would like to try some. As we walked through the shop, I pointed out the Blood Pops. "That's the one sweet none of us kids were ever willing to try, but I always wondered about them. How do they smell to you?"

Jasper shook his head. "I don't know who's buying these, but I don't even think a human should be eating them. If only there was a way to get past his sense of smell, it would be fun to get Emmett to taste them." He gave a half smile,

"Do you realize how sexy I find that?" I said coyly.

"This?" He did it again.

"Yes! Now stop it or we'll cause a scene here in the store, and we still have the Joke Shop to go to."

Later, we had stepped out of a shop when Jasper gently squeezed my hand. "I'm going to get it for Nessie! I'll catch up."

I looked up and smiled at him. "I'll just be over there." I pointed at the Quidditch shop. I made my way over and was looking at the newest brooms when it happened.

"Well, well, well," came Draco Malfoy's voice. "If it isn't Ginny Weasley."

I turned to face him. I knew when I returned this would happen sooner or later. I had been hoping it would be later. "Draco." He looked the same.

"I haven't seen you for a while. Was it your turn to hold up your family home?" he sneered.

I felt ready to explode, then I felt Jasper's cool hand on my back and his calming waves. I glanced up at him and smiled.

Draco looked at Jasper, sizing him up. "How low can you go, Weasley? Muggle borns? Really? At least he has money." Then he looked me up and down. "I can't say I blame him, however. Despite the weight you've put on, you still look pretty damn fuckable."

Jasper growled at him and I placed my hand on his chest as I gave him a reassuring smile.

"Draco, Jasper here is most definitely not a Muggle. He is, however, 160 times the man you could ever hope to be. The things he has done in his life even your father could only dream of, and if you tried to do any one of them, it would be out of fear. As for the weight I put on, well, I did that having your baby." The look on Draco's face was priceless! I wished Harry, Ron, and Hermione could have seen that. I then turned to Jasper and took his hand. "I can't believe the people they allow in here."

As we stepped out of the store, Jasper looked at me. "Please let me kill him! I promise I won't even drink his blood."

"It wouldn't taste any good anyway," I laughed.

He was looking back at the shop, then he reached out to me and pulled me to him, acting as if he was going to bite me. Instead, he gently sucked on my neck. Once he released his suction, he whispered, "He's watching and feeling revengeful. I needed to let him know wot he is dealing with."

"And now what is he feeling?" I asked, holding myself from looking back.

"He's confused. It will, I guess, take him some time to piece it all together." He took my hand in his. "So little one, you have a thing for taller men."

"Well Jasper, I guess I like to be with taller men because it gives them something over me!" I noticed him looking around. "What?"

"Ginny, how do you feel about marriage?"

I was disappointed that this was how he was asking, but I replied, "Marriage is a wonderful thing."

He pulled me closer to him. "Darlin', trust me; when I ask you, and I will ask you, you won't be disappointed! Remember, I'm old-fashioned about some things, so I was just checking. Bella wasn't too wild about the idea. I just wanted to make sure we're on the same page. By the way, we're still being watched."

"Draco," I sighed. "I never should have commented on his father."

"Well, it wasn't your most ladylike moment." He looked down at me and his features softened. "Why did you get involved with him?"

"It was dumb, yes. I don't know why now, but look at Elizabeth and tell me it was a mistake."

He again pulled me close to him. "It brought you to me, so the end result makes it okay."

We had to fly back because Apparation won't work with a vampire, but I didn't mind. Our section of the plane was almost empty, and Jasper's arm was around me. I was supposed to be going to sleep.

"Darlin', what are you worrying about?" he whispered to me.

"How upset was everyone with me for leaving?" I asked.

He pulled me a little closer to him. "They weren't; they all knew we had feelings for each other, and until Edward and Bella returned they all thought that we just weren't ready to tell the rest of them. Alice told Edward to tell the others not to say anything. The family over the years has learned to listen to Alice. They all understand that your leaving was not to hurt them, but to protect yourself. If anything, they feel bad for not having said anything to us."

"Why would Alice not want us to know?"

He surprised me with a sigh. "She said things had to happen the way they happened. I think there is more she isn't telling us. I'm picking up some jealousy about her suddenly."

I shoved my hand toward his ribs. "I wonder why! You were only married to her for almost as long as my mother has been alive!"

He took hold of my hand and looked at it before replying, "And how many boyfriends have you had? I got the feeling from your brothers there has been quite the list."

I laughed at him. "Yes, quite the list! For Ron, anyone other than Harry was one too many, Including Draco, there have been only four."

"Was Draco your first?"

I know that vampires do have a possessive side to them, so I was concerned how he might react. "Thank Merlin, no! At least he can't say yes to that. No, before the final battle, school was a very scary place. I didn't want to risk having a Death Eater rape me for my first time, so...um, a good friend helped me out with that."

"You were that worried? Why would they do that?"

I sat upright and looked directly at him. "We were at war, and these guys weren't nice at all. I was the only daughter of one of the few Pure blood families to not support Voldemort. If they had won, hell, not only was I likely to be used as a breeder, but as a form of torture they most likely would have gang raped me in front of any remaining family members I had left."

He growled at the very idea. I tried to calm myself so he would feel it. It seemed to work. "So who was he and who were the other three?"

"Neville Longbottom was my first. He's still a very good friend, and always will be."

Jasper growled again.

"Relax! It was only once, rather uncomfortable, and over before I knew it. It was his first time, too. As for my other boyfriends, they were all before that. There was Michael Corner; he was a Ravenclaw boy and a very poor sport. Dean Thomas, a fellow Gryffindor who seemed to think I was unable to do anything for myself, but he's a good guy. And then Harry. Really, we only kissed a few times and when we dated we both had too much happening to get into a whole relationship. To be honest, I think I knew him too well. I may as well have been kissing a mirror." I then remembered that Jasper grew up in a different time than I and that he might think that my past made me a slut.

"What is it, darlin'?"

"I just know that girls back in your day-"

"No Ginny, I could never think negatively of you. And something I'm pretty sure Severus didn't tell you about vampires is that we're very sexual in nature. Therefore, I would only be being a hypocrite to hold anything against you. Now, aren't you supposed to be going to sleep?"

I smirked. "Well, really, I'm not tired." I then leaned forward and kissed him. It didn't take long before I was getting very turned on.

"We need to stop," he whispered, pulling away from me.

"I don't want to!" I tried to kiss him again.

"Darlin', remember your emotions really affect me. The amount of lust I'm feeling is almost pushing me over the edge right now."

I grinned at him. "You know, I have learned a fair amount about the Muggle world, and I think I would like to join the 'Mile High Club!'"

He looked shocked at what I said. "Ginny, for one thing, you only had a baby two weeks ago! I hear you ripped very badly as well, and you need time to heal. Two, the first time we make love it will not be on a plane in the bathroom with a flight attendant knocking on the door! No, I want to spend the whole night touching you, feeling your feelings, and slowly taking you to highs you have never reached before." He wrapped his arm around me in a way that told me to go to sleep.

"How can you expect me to sleep after you say something like that?" I replied, pouting a little.

"I can make you fall asleep," he said warningly.

"No, don't do that. I want to enjoy feeling you this close, knowing that you're mine."

"I thought it was the other way around; that you were mine," he said.

I yawned suddenly. "I think it works both ways."

**A/N Another chapter for you! The reviews for the last couple of chapters were low, I real can't explain how much reviews mean to me so please leave me one... come tell of you thoughts on the run in with Draco!**


	22. Ginny Returns

**Gift Or Torture?**

**Chapter 23**

**Ginny Returns**

**JPOV**

When we finally arrived in Edmonton, Carlisle, Esme with Elizabeth, Rose, and Emmett had come to meet us. As Ginny walked forward and Carlisle embraced her first, the feeling coming off of him toward her wasn't the fatherly affection he felt towards the rest of us. It was different; similar to what he feels for Esme, but still different. At first I felt jealous, but then I realized what it was. Ginny made him a father, so she wasn't someone he viewed any longer as a child. He loved her like a mate, just not romantically. She would be Esme's equal in our family. Her opinions would hold equal weight as Esme's. Shit, we were all in trouble now! Ginny wasn't as easygoing as Esme. While it didn't matter to me, I will follow her to the ends of the earth and back again.

"Welcome back," Carlisle greeted.

"Thanks. It's good to be back," Ginny said.

At the sound of her voice, Elizabeth began to fuss. I felt excitement coming from the bundle of blankets.

"Someone missed you," I whispered.

For the first time, I felt a little fear coming off of both Ginny and Esme towards each other. Ginny took a step towards Esme. "May I hold your daughter?" she asked.

Esme's concern melted away. "Of course." She handed Ginny the baby.

Elizabeth snuggled into Ginny's arms, but looked up into her face. Elizabeth sighed as though relieved.

I wasn't surprised by the love coming off of Ginny. "She's grown so much!" Ginny observed.

"Jasper, Alice asked that we give you this," Carlisle said as he handed me a letter.

Ginny, Rose and Esme were talking about Elizabeth, so I unfolded the letter:

_Jazz, _

_I'm very happy for you and Ginny! Don't worry, it's going to be great! I'm sorry I left without meeting Ginny in person, but I needed to. I have been seeing you and her together for so many years now, and I won't lie; it did hurt back then. And now I'm not ready to see it for real. I think I need more time to mourn what we had. But don't worry about me! I have seen myself happy with someone! I know he is out there; I just have to find him. When I do, it will be so much easier to be around you and Ginny,_

_I can't wait to become friends with her. I have a few of your secrets I can't wait to share with her! I went out and got Ginny a few things. They are in her room at the house. Please assure her I was very reserved in my shopping. I know once she gets used to money being spent to spoil her, she'll be a great shopping buddy, and I'll still have a say in how your money is spent! Yay me! Ha Ha! But don't worry, no one will ever be as bad about spending money as I. Good thing I have such a great eye for the stock markets! Now, once you're in the car, let Ginny read this._

_With great affection,_

_Alice_

Once we were in the car, I handed Ginny the note. I felt some guilt coming off of her as she read Alice's note. "I'm guessing she saw your dislike of things being given to you."

She sighed. "Jasper, you saw what I grew up in. It's pride. One is supposed to work for what they have and not take hand outs!"

I whispered in her ear so she would at least feel the whole car wouldn't hear what I was saying, "I could make you work very hard for it," I said seductively. She turned redder that a cherry.

"You know, I've always wanted to see some of the effects some of the darker magic has on vampires. Severus would likely want to see, too," she threatened.

"How do you know I won't like that?"

"Shut up!" she said, annoyed with me.

"Dominating, too." I raised an eyebrow suggestively.

"Shut it, or I will Apparate right now!" she said crossly.

"Jasper, give her a break! Ginny, trust me; I know what's in his accounts. He could give 95% of it away to drug users and still not run out for a few hundred years. Alice is a great little freak to have around that way. Jasper's net worth is higher than Bill Gates, and still Carlisle buys the houses we live in. And I have seen it myself; Jasper is one hell of a spoiler," Rose confessed for me.

She glanced at me with huge eyes. I felt amazement and embarrassment from her.

"Ginny, remember what I said about how I grew up? Yes, thanks to Alice, money is never going to be a worry. And I like being able to spend it on the people that I care about."

Hours later, Ginny was sitting in the living room holding Elizabeth. I had just returned from hunting and Edward was simply watching them with a smile on his face.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"Elizabeth is noticing that Ginny is soft and warm, unlike us. Her mind is not like Nessie's was at this age. She is simpler to understand and her thought patterns are more basic as she tries to understand the world around her. But she knows Ginny, that is clear."

"How is Esme doing with Ginny being back? I picked up on some fear from her at the airport."

"She's worried that Elizabeth will want Ginny more and that Ginny will want her back," Edward explained.

"It won't happen. Can we talk outside?" I requested.

He nodded and we stepped out. _"I'm worried about Ginny; one day she will want children,"_ I confessed silently to him.

"I know. When Bella was pregnant, you know what I went through."

_'I could never dream of letting Ginny even think of doing something like that, but there will come a time, a day, when she longs for a child. I don't know how I will deal with her feelings Rose's are hard enough to deal with,' _I thought to Edward.

"You know there are other choices," Edward said.

"I don't know if I can do that," I verbally admitted.

He looked through the window at Ginny holding Elizabeth. "How does that make you feel? Look at Elizabeth and tell me; do you see her as Ginny's child with another man? Or just Ginny's child?"

'_If she's happy, then I'm happy.'_

"Then you know. Unlike myself when Bella was pregnant and I was scared for her. You have watched her carrying another man's child. You know what you're facing, and this time you won't be thinking that she loves the baby's father."

He was right; at the end of the day her happiness was all that mattered.

That night, when Ginny started getting sleepy, I came over to her. "Would you find it too forward of me to ask if I could spend the night with you?"

Her eyes grew big and I felt her excitement. "But you said…"

"I meant every word I said, but that doesn't mean I can't spend the night holding you, watching you breathe, and listening to your heartbeat."

"Won't that be dull for you?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Enjoying the most beautiful thing on the planet? Never."

"What about the others?"

"Darlin', they can find their own things to amuse themselves with."

She playfully swatted at me. "That's not what I meant! What will they think?"

I smiled. "Their vampire hearing and other senses will tell them you're sleeping and that is all."

She nodded. "Well, I want to shower first."

I was tempted to say many things, but settled for, "I'll meet you up there. Can I bring you anything?"

She gave a little grimace and a shudder. "Food where I sleep? No!"

"It's a good thing Jasper doesn't have a problem with food in his bed," came Emmett's voice from his spot in front of the television.

She started to blush and I pulled her closer, kissing her temple and then whispering, "Ignore him."

"He reminds me of Fred a few years before he was killed, at about 15. However, Mum would have killed him for making comments like that."

"You hear that, Em? You're almost a hundred and you remind her of a 15 year old!"

"It's called 'being young at heart', old man," he retorted.

"I'll see you in a bit," Ginny said and smiled at me.

Twenty minutes later, I could feel some self-conscience coming from her. I went up to her room and knocked on the door. "Darlin', is everything alright?"

"Yes, just give me a minute," she replied. I heard her move around, then the sound of her getting into bed. "You can come in now."

When I came in, she was snuggled up under the covers. I could tell she was wearing silk and I saw thin straps. I swiftly moved toward the bed, laid down next to her, and gently pulled her onto my chest. "This feels right," I said.

"Yes, it does."

"Your emotions have been all over the place today. How are you doing, really?"

"I'm not sure. I'm amazed that everyone here is so understanding," she whispered.

"The whole family loves you."

"Are you sure?" With this statement came a wave of self doubt.

Her comment confused me. "Why do you say that?"

She bit her lip. "When I told Carlisle I was leaving, I expected a little more of a fight, but he was very willing to let me leave."

I kissed her head. "Carlisle would never force his will on one of us. I'm sure, in his mind, if you wanted to leave then he had to allow it, even if he knew you were making a mistake. I felt his sadness when he read your letter to us." I wanted to tell her more, but I would wait until we were alone. Edward and I have learned to keep some of the things we know to ourselves. Ginny and Esme would feel odd enough around each other for the next while until life fell into a pattern. Esme didn't need to know about feelings, however innocent, Carlisle had towards Ginny right now.

"You know, someone else was very upset by your leaving. You should call Severus. He truly cares about you." I felt her smile.

"I will in the morning, but for now I'm rather happy."


	23. Getting Closer

**Gift Or Torture**

**Chapter 24**

**Getting Closer**

**GPOV**

The following morning I did call Severus. He seemed oddly happy I had returned. Maybe he just liked having an actual friend. Yes, I think of him as a friend, a real friend. When he came to see me after Elizabeth was born, he knew something was wrong. I wasn't ready to explain it to him, but how understanding he was when I returned to the apartment before heading back to England and home is something I will never forget.

**Flashback;**

_I had Apparated into my bedroom, picked up my wand, and set my stuff to packing itself. Severus heard the sound of my Apparation._

_"What's going on?" he asked. _

_I wiped the tears from my cheek before turning to face him. "I'm going home," I said._

_He took a step farther into my room. "Ginny, Molly has enough experience to take one look at you and know you've just had a baby."_

_"I don't care! I have to! I can't stay here and be around them, and him."_

_He seemed to know. "Does he know?"_

_I sat down on my bed. "He's an empath; how can he not know? He doesn't care!" I let out a sob._

_Instead of looking uncomfortable, he asked, "How do you know he doesn't care?"_

_I looked up at him. "Did I mention he's married? The day I had Elizabeth, his wife Alice returned. He didn't come to see me at the hospital! He couldn't even spare the time to call!"_

_Severus got a look of understanding. He came over, sat next to me on the bed, and gently placed an arm around me. "Ginevra," He paused for a long time. "I'm not going to tell you the pain will go away, because sometimes it never does. But you need to decide how this will affect you. You're so much more like your parents than you'll ever know. You have very strong emotions, but don't let them rule you. You don't have to leave either. You're welcome to stay here for as long as you want."_

_I fought to keep from crying. "I have to leave. I may have another hour before Esme or one of the others comes looking for me."_

_"Yes, weren't you supposed to finish your recovery with them? How did you escape that?"_

_"Carlisle," was all I said._

_"They will come looking for you. What do I say?"_

_I looked up at him. "Could I beg you to lie? Tell them you don't know how to find the Burrow."_

_"Don't you want to know about Elizabeth?" Severus wondered. _

_"I left a note promising I would send an address in case they ever needed to contact me. I'm sure Esme will send letters and pictures regularly."_

_He stood up and looked down at me. "Ginny, I know how you're hurting, but please, I beg of you; don't let this eat you up. Free yourself to try to find love again. Don't let this destroy you."_

_I shook my head. "How can anyone ever compete with him?"_

_"Ginny, find someone who can make you happy."_

_"No one ever made you happy after Lily."_

"_You don't want to end up like me. TRY!" he stressed._

**End of Flashback**

The family had wanted to go out hunting together. I was more than willing to spend the evening with Elizabeth. I had fed her her night time bottle and snuggled her for longer than needed before finally taking her up to bed. I then headed back downstairs to tidy up after myself. I was wondering when Jacob would return. He had headed down to Forks to see his dad. I was kind of missing having an adult, and I use the term loosely, around to eat with. I grabbed my glass and headed to the kitchen to wash it. I had some music playing and danced my way over to the sink.

Before getting to the sink, I did a spin and as I turned I went to place the glass in the sink. I hit the faucet with the crystal glass though, causing it to shatter and push a large piece into the fleshy heel of my hand! Blood was almost instantly pouring down my hand and into the sink. The sight of blood didn't bother me; after what I saw in the war, this wasn't that bad. I stood there trying to figure out what to do. I was thankful I was at the sink and I could just turn on the water and the blood would be washed away. My wand was upstairs, sitting on my bedside table, as I was trying to live without magic. If I had it, this wouldn't have been a real issue. I would have simply closed the cut and washed the blood away. Unfortunately, I had never gotten the hang of wandless magic.

As I looked at the cut, it seemed to be showing no signs of stopping on its own. I debated what to do. Do I try to go and get my wand to close the cut and leave the smell of human blood through the whole house? Or do I stand here and bleed to death in a house where vampires live? I started to laugh at the idea.

"What's so funny?" came Jasper's voice.

Before I could say anything, he was at my side. My eyes darted from him to my hand and the running water that was taking my blood away.

His eyes too darted to my hand and he hissed. He reached down and took my hand out of the running water.

I then heard a growl from across the room. My eyes flew up to see Jacob. I looked back at Jasper to see his eyes; they were locked with Jacob's "Don't do it! You'll never forgive yourself!" Jacob urged to Jasper. I hadn't seen him phase yet, but I guess he was seconds from it.

I realized that Jasper's hold on my wrist was cutting off the blood flow to my hand. "Jacob, he's okay. Please go upstairs and grab my wand. It will allow me to close this in a second."

His eyes left Jasper's only for a split second. "I can't, my instincts won't let me turn my back on this."

"He is fine. Look at the color of his eyes."

Jacob stood there, not moving; just watching Jasper for a minute.

"Guys, while you two have a staring contest, I'm bleeding to death here! It's really a shame that I won't die because the werewolf let the vampire drain me, but because he didn't!"

Jacob finally moved toward the stairs.

"I'm feeling a little wobbly here," I whispered to Jasper.

"How long has it been bleeding?" he asked as he placed his arm around me. He also swallowed hard.

"I'm not sure; over five minutes at least."

Jasper lifted my hand above the level of my heart and held tight to the wrist.

When Jacob reappeared, he had a cell phone in one hand. As he handed me my wand from his other hand, he said, "Carlisle is about five minutes away."

"Thank you." I took my wand.

Jasper looked intently at me. "I think there's tendon damage. Please wait for Carlisle and let him look at it."

When Carlisle returned, he examined the cut as Jasper looked on. "I'll need to stitch it."

I groaned. "Please don't! Those things are horrid! Just let me use my wand."

"She really dislikes the stitches," Jasper explained in support of me.

"I don't know. I admit I don't understand how magic works, but I don't want to see any permanent damage," Carlisle cautioned.

I heavily exhaled. "Carlisle, my whole life I have been healed with magic, with no damage or scars."

He looked sternly at me. "Someone else was doing the healing, though"

I laughed, "With six brothers, trust me; I have healed worse than this before. Have some faith."

He sighed. "Ginny, do you know how having antibiotics in your system will affect this magic?"

He was right; after having the baby, I had had Muggle medicine. While it was two weeks back, it was likely still in my system, but I was sure I would be fine. "Aren't you even a little interested in seeing some magic?"

He won and I got six stitches.

That night, after we had calmed down, Jasper, Carlisle, and I talked about Jasper's reaction.

"I never even registered smelling her blood," he said, his arm wrapped loving around me. "My reaction was to just seeing the blood. My mind went to what it tastes like in general." He looked down at me. "You were scared."

"Not really of you; more of what might have or could have happened between you and Jacob," I said. I hated to think about how it would affect the family if Jacob had ripped Jasper apart.

"I think this proves Edward's belief. I will admit I was surprised you were not tempted before, but for you to have stood there stopping the blood flow with venom pooling in your month, but still not having done anything...wow, Jasper, I'm amazed."

He looked at Carlisle and then at me. "Some part of me wanted to taste it; to see how that would affect me," he admitted.

"Should we test it?" I asked.

"How you would taste? NO! I won't do that! I don't want to know," he affirmed.

There was a small part of me that was offended that he didn't want to try my blood.

Jasper had come over to me. "Darlin', you know there are going to be times when you want to do things when we can't? I want to get you your own car."

I looked at him in shock. "What? NO! I don't need a car! I can Apparate anywhere I need to go."

He tried sending me a calming wave. "I thought you wanted to live as a Muggle! How are you doing that if you Apparate everywhere?"

I knew he was right, but still I knew what cars cost. "Jasper, I don't want a car. And I don't want to hear another word about it!" I walked away from him and headed outside. Okay, maybe a car wouldn't be a bad idea, but still I didn't want to be given one!

"Don't be upset with him. I get where you're coming from because I was the same way. It drove Edward crazy that I never wanted him to give me any gifts," Bella said as she came up from behind me.

"You don't understand," I claimed.

"Yes, I do. I always felt like nothing I could give him could compare," she vowed.

"No, you really don't get it. Money was so tight for my family, I never thought it was odd to get a diary with someone else's name on it."

Her eyes grew big. "Okay, maybe I didn't realize it was that hard, but with this family it seems it's in their nature to be giving. I mean, they have more money than God! You know, when I met Jasper, and as I got to know him, I thought he was unconditionally in love with Alice. I'm not saying this to upset you; just hear me out. Jasper did, and still does, love her, and he always will. She freed him from his own personal hell. I can't imagine how bad it was for him! He will always be grateful to her, but YOU, you're his whole world. He only wants to protect you, love you, and make you happy. He does get something from you better than anything you could ever buy in a store. You lessen what he feels from others. Can you imagine what it's like to always feel everything that everyone around you does? The love, the hate, their insecurities, their pride? Ginny, he is going to spoil you like you've never dreamed possible, because he's only trying to make your world as good for you as you have made his for him."

I wasn't sure what to say to her. Rose came up behind her. "She's right."

"The first time Jasper and I really talked, he did something that made me not want to be around him. You see, the father of Draco, Elizabeth's sperm donor, is the richest man in the wizarding world. Draco always seemed to find a way to remind me that I was beneath him, like leaving tips that were too big. He even bought me some very expensive underwear, only to rip it off of me. Buying a very expensive bottle of wine, then telling me the reason I didn't like it was because my palate wasn't used to something that good."

Rose hissed, "Ass!"

"From what Edward said, he saw things in Ginny's mind about Draco that were along the same lines as Royce was; maybe with a little more class," Bella said to Rose. I had heard Rosalie's story shortly after deciding to give Elizabeth to Carlisle and Esme.

"Rose, why do you like her so much?" Bella asked.

Rose smiled at me. "I didn't like Bella very much, but still she was better than Alice, the little shopaholic. I like Ginny because she's not risking her life to be around us. Even if the Volturi were to walk in here right this second, there would be no danger. She doesn't want to give up her humanity, and Jasper isn't risking everything to be with her." Rose looked at me again. "What do you and Jasper have planned?"

I sighed, "We want to be together, and he asked about marriage. We know we still have a lot of weird shit to figure out."

"You don't want to become like us, then?" Rose pointedly asked.

"I thought he was asking about that when he came for me. It scared me. I don't have the answers. I mean, he doesn't want to admit it, but one day we will no longer be able to be a couple publicly, and I know vampires are attracted to beauty. It hurts even now to think of the day he no longer wants me. And trust me, I already know how it feels to think he doesn't love me! Tom longed for immortality, so he killed seven times to try to make himself immortal. I saw what it turned him into." I paused as both women seemed to hang on my every word. "I know I'm rambling here, and there are a couple of ways to prevent death for wizards; however, there is no way to stop ageing. Only to delay it, perhaps."

Rose turned to Bella. "She understood from day one what this is all about."

Bella smiled. I got the feeling the two would never see eye to eye on the matter.

We went for a walk and Jasper seemed nervous. Yes, perfect Jasper seemed nervous! He was quieter than normal; not that I mind a quiet person. He had placed my hand in the apex between his upper and lower arm. "Jasper, what's wrong?"

He looked surprised at me. "Am I broadcasting?" he asked.

"No, you just seem nervous, and you take me out here to be alone with me and then don't talk." I smiled at him.

"I'm sorry." He looked down at me and turned his head a little to the side. "It's been a very long time since I even thought about courting a girl. Alice always knew what was happening. I guess I'm unsure of myself, yet I feel like I should be doing more."

"Everything is just fine. What do you feel you should be doing?" I asked.

"What do humans do when they're out together nowadays?"

I laughed a little at him. "Well, going out to dinner would be just plain odd, with me eating and you wondering how I could eat what's in front of me and you thinking about what the waitress tastes like… I'm sure Draco did that, just not quite the same way!" I paused. "Before you were turned, back before the war, how did couples court?"

He smiled, moved in front of me, and made like he was taking off a hat and tipping it at me. "Good day, Miss Ginevra! I was hoping for the honor of you saving me a spot on your dance card at the ball this weekend," he said with a very sexy, Southern drawl.

I smiled and looked up at him from under my eyelashes. "Balls all the time, really?"

"During the party season, yes. What about dating for you?"

I laughed. "Well, for my whole dating time, we were at war. Dating was pretty much just walking around the school grounds, talking, sometimes nicking food from the school kitchens, and once in a blue moon there was a trip to Hogsmeade. Couples always ended up at the tea house."

"That's not what happened with Draco," he pointed out.

I sighed. "At the time I would have called it dating, I guess, but now I realize it wasn't. He never wanted to be seen with me. I thought at the time it was because he enjoyed our time together alone. No, it was only about the sex."

He had returned to walking beside me. "So you have never been on a real date?"

"Not really. What about you? How do vampires date?"

He smirked at me. "Share a kill. Have sex."

I laughed. "So much for the Muggle idea of the romantic vampire!"

He pulled me close to his cold body and in a husky voice said, "Trust me; we can be very romantic!" He then left feather light kisses down my neck and along my collarbone. "I'm going to find a perfect date for us!" he vowed.

Later, when we returned to the house, Jacob came over to me. "Hey, the guys are planning to head out for a big hunt in the mountains. Some of my pack are coming to hang, then we were going to head out clubbing tomorrow night. I think it would be cool to see a drunk witch! Wanna come?"

"Umm…"

Jasper had come over. "I think you should go and have some fun. I don't think I would be much fun at a place like that, but I'm sure Jacob will make sure you stay safe."

I couldn't comprehend the understanding Jacob and Jasper seemed to have. As far as I knew, they should be mortal enemies, but they seemed to have a weird understanding, and almost a trust, between them. I know they both care for Nessie, but it was deeper than that.

"Only Nessie would be safer," Jacob vowed to Jasper.

"I don't know..." I stalled.

Bella had wandered in. "Go! He's letting you, and you can then report back to me on what a drunk Jake is like. I've never seen it."

"I don't even know what to wear," I replied.

"Just look smoking hot!" Jacob said with a sly smile.

Later, I found Jasper reading the copy of _Hogwarts; A History_ Hermione gave me before I left. "You don't mind me going out with him and his pack?"

He put the book down and was suddenly standing next to me, gently touching my face. "No, you need to have some fun."

"But they're wolves!"

"So I ask that you shower once you're home," he simply stated.

"But what about the whole mortal enemy thing?"

"I have fought beside him and his pack and they have fought with us, and are willing to do it again. You know the saying that one man fighting for his home is worth ten paid men? Well, they proved that. Family is what matters to Jacob. Nessie is family to both his pack and this family, and you don't hurt family! That's how I know he won't hurt you." He then smiled at me. "I think you might be fun to be around when you're intoxicated! I'll make plans to be back once you're home."

"I'll miss you," I admitted.

He wrapped an arm around me, "Darlin', I can feel it already. I'm not leaving till tomorrow. Please relax. Tonight I'm going to hold you all night long and let you know exactly how much I love you," he vowed.

That night, Jasper once again joined me in my room. When I went to brush my teeth and shower, he laid back on my bed and continued to read about Hogwarts.

After showering and towel drying my hair, I pulled all my hair back and quickly braided it. Then I came out wearing a cotton tank top and matching shorts. Jasper looked up from the book and flipped the covers back for me. "I was beginning to think I would have to come looking for you," he said.

I looked at the book. "Please, I beg you! Don't ever say 'I read it in _Hogwarts; A History'!_" I then climbed into bed next to him.

He covered me and then pulled me close. "Why is that, darlin'?"

"Hermione," I muttered. "You would swear that that book is the Bible to hear her talk. Fred and George once stole her copy and kept it hidden for a whole week! You would have thought the world had ended. Why she was so worried is beyond me; she knows it by heart."

"Are you comfortable?" he asked.

I inhaled, smelling the clean sheets and Jasper's manly odor. I could feel my legs were perfectly smooth, thanks to a charm. I might be willing to live like a Muggle for the most part, but razor blades in a house full of vampires, vegges or not, wasn't the smartest idea! And I didn't like the sound of waxing. "Yes, this is perfect."

"I read earlier about some of your personal history at Hogwarts. You were rather brief about it when you told us about it."

I snuggled closer to him. "I don't think I can tell you any more than I did. I really have very few memories of my first year."

"You don't seem very affected by it," he observed.

**A/N one mega chapter for you, I hope this makes up for the long wait. Man my life has changed since I started writing this story a year ago, its a lot more stressful. Please leave me a review!**


	24. The Visitors

**Gift Or Torture?**

**Chapter 25**

**The Visitors**

**JPOV**

I was surprised that she was rather blank about the whole thing.

"I was possessed, for lack of a better word, for most of it. I remember being scared because I was missing so much. More than anything, I was mad at myself for being so stupid."

I shook my head as I reassured her, "You were just a child." Then I sensed it. "Fuck, no! Not now!" I jumped up from the bed. "Ginny, stay up here! Only let me, Esme, or Jacob in," I ordered. I pulled the door to her room open. "Esme! Grab Elizabeth and take her to Ginny's room. Jacob?" I called as I headed down the hall.

Jacob popped out of his room. "What?"

"Go and stay with Ginny and Elizabeth. We have company."

He snarled, "What company?" Esme passed me with Elizabeth and headed into Ginny's room. I didn't expect her to leave.

"The kind that will think Ginny and Elizabeth are very tasty," I told him. He nodded and headed down the hall to her room.

Once in the living room, I saw the rest of the family was assembled. "Who is it?" Nessie asked.

"Peter and Charlotte."

"Are they hungry?" Carlisle asked Edward.

"I don't think so. Peter has just picked up on the scent. However, like before, Jake's and Nessie's scents are throwing him off."

I have no fear of Peter or Char, but if they were hungry, Ginny was tempting just to look at. And the baby was an easy target. If they weren't prepared for humans to be here it might not be good. "I'll go out and explain."

"No, let me. Ginny's scent is all over you! If he's hungry, it could send him in to a frenzy," Edward offered.

I nodded. Edward could at least read Peter's thoughts. Edward took off and the rest of us waited and listened.

"Peter, Charlotte, we weren't expecting you," Edward said. Was it impossible for him to cut to the chase? "When did you last feed?"

I heard Peter kiss Char. "Just before coming here."

"Peter, we have a couple of new additions to the family."

"Well, the area reeks of dog."

"What can we do?" Edward asked. "I mean human additions."

"What's with you Cullens and the self torture?" Char asked.

"Don't blame me this time! Blame Jasper." Edward didn't wait for them to speak, damn him. "He is quite close to them."

I had had enough of Edward's shit, so I took off towards them.

"He's coming now; he can explain it to you."

Peter's eyes locked on me. "Fuck, man! That's a very sweet smell!"

I nodded. "Even as a human, I did like strawberries and cinnamon," I retorted.

"You can be around that and it's still alive?" Peter sounded amazed.

"Around? Try laying in the same bed kissing her neck," Edward offered I picked up on the humor he felt at the idea.

Peter's eyes were on me again, but Char spoke, "How? Edward, you said Jasper had issues with your wife before."

'_Let me,'_ I thought toward Edward and he nodded. "She is the most amazing thing that I have ever seen, but I have no burning desire to drink her! None at all. Like she's one of us. Ginevra, is… she's almost like a shield for me as far as the emotions of others go. I can still feel others, but they're like white noise when she is around. And hers are like nothing I have ever felt! They're so strong, so clear, but at the same time comforting."

"We think she's like his singer or imprint to Jasper's empath," Edward explained.

They both seemed to catch on. "But there's another scent," Charlotte observed.

"That would be Ginny's daughter, Elizabeth, whom Carlisle and Esme have adopted," I stated.

"You guys are just plain sick!" Charlotte said. She seemed in awe of this fact, however.

"As long as you can remain in complete control of yourselves, Carlisle is most willing to welcome you into our home," Edward said.

"I have to meet this one who has affected the Major so," Peter said.

I hate to admit it, but I hated the idea of him around Ginny. "I know the feeling," Edward said to me.

"I hate when you two do that!" Charlotte declared, referring to mine and Edward's conversation.

Peter looked at me. "If she means this much to you, I promise I'll be on my best behavior," he vowed. I wanted to believe he would be fine.

I hadn't seen Peter in about a year and a half. I had spent some time with them after Alice and I ended our marriage. I had needed some space! At the time, everyone was too understanding of my feelings and walking on egg shells, expecting me to crack at any time. To be honest, when I left I expected to end up drinking humans. Living with other human drinkers is not very helpful to a veg diet, but I surprised myself. As we walked, I explained I would need to talk with Ginny before she came down.

I got to the house and headed upstairs. Esme opened the bedroom door. "She's a little upset that you're going to ask her to do this, so you need to talk with her. Jacob, come on; let's leave them." Clearly, Esme told Ginny what was being said.

Jacob looked at me with a look that said, 'You're fucked now!'

Ginny was in the bathroom. She was scared and confused. I walked over to the door and knocked.

"Darlin'."

"You're mental!" she said through the door.

"Please come out here," I pleaded, sending calming waves at her. The door slowly opened. "I think my reaction earlier is what's upsetting you now."

"Esme explained to us what was being said out there. They're normal vampires!" She stood in the doorway, her arms folded across her chest.

I nodded. I expected that. "Yes, but they're my oldest friends. I want you to meet them."

"Are you out of your vampire mind? I leave this room and I'm lunch!" She was getting more upset and I didn't understand why.

"Ginny, Esme took Elizabeth downstairs. You know she would never risk a child!" I was desperate to reassure her.

"Elizabeth has an advantage over me!" She was exasperated

"Darlin', the whole family will protect you just like Elizabeth."

She shook her head in frustration. "Jasper, you don't smell it? Really?"

I looked at her, dumbfounded. "What?"

"I had a baby three weeks ago! I'm still bleeding!"

I pulled her close to me. "Ah! Darlin', that blood...it hasn't been pumped through your body. It's like it's old, so we don't like it, and the smell doesn't bother us. You'll be fine."

She got an embarrassed look on her face. "Oh."

I pulled her into my arms. "Have you been worried about this all this time?"

"A little, but I knew that you all would know this and be expecting it, so you could all be ready for it."

"Don't worry; it will be fine," I vowed. "Let's go and I can show them the love of my life."

**A/N another chapter for you. Hopefully this one will get more reviews!**


	25. Visiting

**Gift Or Torture**

**Chapter 26**

**visiting**

**GPOV**

I grew up in a wizarding home. I went to Hogwarts. I knew what normal vampires looked like, with their red eyes. I have also seen pictures. But I was completely unprepared for Peter… he was tall with silvery blond hair and the pale skin all vampires have. He looked to me like Lucius Malfoy had in the bad dreams I had following my first year. Yes, I had nightmares of Lucius not Tom!

"Peter, Charlotte, this is Ginevra Weasley. Ginny, this is Peter and Charlotte," Jasper introduced us.

Charlotte nodded. "I'm happy Jasper has found someone. Pleased to meet you." She smiled.

I was thankful that Jasper had given me a chance to change out of my night wear. Peter's stare made me feel very uncomfortable.

"You're making her uncomfortable," Jasper growled.

"Forgive me, little one. I'm simply amazed that the Major doesn't find you tempting. Your looks alone are mouth watering," Peter gushed.

Jasper growled at him again, but Edward spoke, "Peter, stop. I wouldn't push either of them."

No one, other than Edward I'm guessing, knew I had grabbed my wand. I may be in a house full of vampires, but I wasn't going to leave myself defenceless!

"A wise move, Ginny," Edward said.

"I know what Jasper could do, but what could this mortal possibly do?" Peter teased as he cocked his head to one side, sizing me up.

I could tell from Jasper's reaction that Peter was only stating the facts; what could a normal human do? Jasper was at my side with his arm placed protectively around me. I wanted to draw my wand and show him what I could do! Edward made eye contact with me and then nodded. I slowly moved my hand to my back pocket and pulled my wand out. I was thankful that I could do wordless magic because I did most of the spell behind my back. I pointed it in his direction, sending him flying across Esme's room and breaking through her wall.

The others all moved into a protective stance in front of me, but not blocking my view. Peter hissed, actually hissed at me, then jumped up. "What the hell?"

Jasper kissed my temple. "Good job!" He then turned his attention back to Peter. "My Ginny here is not just a human; she is a witch! Not just any witch, either; she took part in the wizard wars, including fighting in the final battle."

With a look of realization settled on his face, Peter smiled at me. "Then we really do have a match for the Major! My apologies," he said. "Charlotte and I were asked to assist in that. However, we have seen enough fighting to last us a lifetime."

I wasn't surprised that vampires had been asked to help. There were a few at the final battle, but even the Death Eaters seemed to realize the risk and tried not to spill blood! The Avada Kedavra was nice, neat, and quick.

I knew that these people meant a lot to Jasper, so I would try to accept them for him. I would try to look past my own discomfort. We sat talking, but I was tired. Once Jasper wrapped his arm around me, it was not long before I was asleep. He must have carried me up to bed.

When I woke the next morning, Jasper had left with his old friends. I made my way down to the kitchen to make myself some breakfast. Oatmeal sounded good this morning. Edward entered the kitchen and smiled at me. "Bella used to insist on eating the grossest combinations of chemicals that called itself food that I have ever seen."

I smiled. "I know. When I first arrived here, I went into a grocery store and, I swear, 90% of the stuff I picked up and read I couldn't pronounce many of the ingredients in it! I prefer real food."

He smiled again at me. "I wanted to talk to you. I know you're not really comfortable with Peter and Charlotte, but you're trying for Jasper. He, by the way, appreciated your trying, but he does feel your discomfort. I wanted to talk to you about Esme. She is very worried about Elizabeth, but doesn't want to leave and have everyone thinking she is an over-protective mother. I was hoping you could talk to her and give her the excuse of you being worried about Elizabeth so she can leave until they're gone. They will only be here for a couple of days."

"Where is she?" I asked.

"That's why Jasper left; he took Peter and Charlotte out so that Esme would feel better about leaving to go hunting. She'll be back soon."

"Oh, sure. I'll talk to her."

"Good. I'll explain it to Jasper. He will understand."

Esme returned and took off up to the nursery to check on Elizabeth. I followed her. "Esme, can I talk to you?"

She smiled warmly, looking up at me. "Of course, Ginny."

_Time to do a little acting here,_ I thought to myself. "Esme, I feel like a horrible person here. I know how much Peter and Charlotte mean to Jasper, but I really don't feel comfortable with them around Elizabeth. She is just so little and helpless. I was thinking about heading over to Severus' apartment. Is there any chance that you would be willing to come with me, or let me take Elizabeth with me, just until they're gone?"

She looked down at her daughter. I didn't need Jasper's or Edward's gifts to know how she felt about Elizabeth. "We could stay in a hotel," she suggested quietly.

"Really, Esme? A hotel? With a baby? At Severus', there's a kitchen for heating bottles, and it's more relaxed. And you had wanted to get to know Severus."

"I don't think he would be too happy with a vampire moving in, even for a couple of days!" Esme exclaimed.

I sighed. "I won't lie; Severus is harsh and condescending at the best of times. But Elizabeth is the offspring of his godson and he wants to know her. I know he will be fine with it." I laughed, "Cook him a meal and he'll be yours! As long as you don't try to eat him, he'll be fine with it."

Hours later, Esme and I were in the kitchen at the apartment cooking dinner for Severus. I had called to tell him I wanted to stay there for a few days. He was fine with it, saying I would always have a place to stay with him.

Severus finally returned from wherever he had been. I had told Esme earlier to let me deal with him. I caught a quick glimpse of a smile from him when he saw me.

"It took you long enough to come visit," he stated.

"I'm sorry, but it's been crazy. Yes, I should have come sooner, but like I said on the phone, I'm going to spend a couple of days here. The reason is some of Jasper's friends, who have the normal vampire diet, will be staying at the house." He nodded in understanding. "I wasn't comfortable having the baby there, so I asked Esme and Elizabeth to join me here. You said that your home was mine."

"You invited a vampire to stay in my home," he almost growled.

"I invited the woman kind enough to raise the child I gave birth to to stay here. Now come in and meet her," I ordered him. We walked into the living room where Esme was feeding Elizabeth.

To look at them, I could see how she loved Elizabeth, and I knew Severus could see it too. "Severus, this is Esme Cullen. Esme, this is Severus Snape."

With her hands busy, she smiled warmly up at him. "Mr. Snape, Ginny has told me a lot about you. I'm pleased to finally have the chance to get to know you."

He looked over at me, then back at Esme. "Ginny thinks very highly of you and your whole family."

Just then my phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, I saw it was Jasper. "Excuse me." I left the room, knowing Esme would have no real problem with Severus. "Hello!" I smiled into the phone.

"Darlin', you're developing a bad habit of leaving and not letting me say goodbye."

"Did Edward not explain things to you?" I wondered.

"He did, and I understand, but it doesn't change the fact that I missed you," he explained.

"I'm sorry. I miss you too, but I understand how important Peter and Charlotte are to you. It's just that Peter makes me feel very uncomfortable."

"Yes, darlin', I didn't miss that fact."

"It's not that he's a vampire. That's not it at all. Peter reminds me of nightmares I used to have of Lucius Malfoy after my first year."

"I thought it was all his comments about you."

I bit my lip. "A little, I guess. Lucius and Draco both enjoyed poking at the things they knew bothered me. Like father, like son, I guess."

"Wait, you're telling me that the man who caused those horrible things to happen to you is Elizabeth's grandfather?" He looked so shocked at this.

"I thought you realized that," I sheepishly said.

"No! I knew they had the same last name. I'll explain it to Peter. He will understand. How is Esme doing with Severus?"

"I think if he gives her a fair chance, they'll be fine. However, he does have a bit of an issue with creatures that try to bite him. He had a close call with a werewolf once while still in school. I don't think he ever really got over it."

I heard him chuckle. "I don't blame the man. How are you feeling about going to bed tonight?"

"Well, not sleeping next to a stone will be nice for a change," I lovingly teased. "No, it's fine. I know what's happening, so it's not like I'm thinking you're having wild sex with Peter! You aren't, are you?"

"I think I might have to tickle someone when next I see them! No, nothing like that. However, I might spend some time alone with this little redhead I know," he teased in return.

"Oh? Care to tell me about her?" I asked.

"Well... I would, but I think you have an evening of clubbing with Jacob and his pack."

"Man, my life is messed up! I can see the page in the diary I don't write in: 'Dear Diary, My vampire boyfriend is sending me out with some werewolves so I can get plastered!'

"Well, I might do some clubbing of my own kind tonight," Jasper replied.

I groaned. "On that note, I'm going to get ready. 'Night."

"Have fun, darlin'; just not too much without me."

That night, I had a lot of fun with Jacob, Seth, and Leah. She and I took to each other right away. When we were alone in the washroom at one point, she asked me, "So what do you see in a vampire?"

I smirked at her. "Well, we haven't done anything, but, truthfully, a guy who's always rock hard! Who wouldn't want that?"

She looked at me for a second, then started laughing. "Good one!" She then turned serious again. "He should be the head of that coven, you know. He is the deadliest of them."

"War changes people, and I don't think he wants that now."

"Personally, I'm glad he changed his feeding habits. Humans really wouldn't stand a chance against him."

The door opened and a very drunk couple fell in. Both Leah and I couldn't get out fast enough.

I was standing at the bar a little later when a guy came up to me. He slid his hand all the way down my back. "You're the hottest piece of ass in this place, and I have the biggest cock. Let's go have some fun!" he whispered in my ear, as if it was supposed to be the most romantic thing I ever heard.

Before I could even react, Jacob was there bending the guy's hand, the one that had been touching my arse, back almost to the point of breaking it. Jacob smiled his warm, friendly smile and then said, "I'm not her boyfriend, but trust me, he's something that even scares me! Leave her alone or else."

"He can't be much of anything if he sends you to fight his battles," the guy dared to say to Jacob.

Jacob then broke the guy's wrist as he stated, "He's not here tonight, so I'm her protection." He shot me a smile. "Not that she needs it, but why should she break a nail on a piece of shit like you?" The guy took off cradling his hand.

I knew Jasper's past should, by every right, scare the living piss out of me, However, it had the opposite effect; it comforted me. It made me feel like he could understand me and my own past. And I did know it all. Marie, and their relationship, reminded me of Tom and myself. Both Jasper and I were used as pawns with our own feelings being used against us.

I truly believed that Tom cared about me. I believed I meant something to him, and while I would never voice it, I wanted and needed to believe that had the war ended badly, I would have been chosen to be the mother to his heir. Not that I wanted to be with what Tom looked like at the end, but still, being raped by one sounds better than being raped by many. I think some part of me needs to believe I would somehow be safe from the horrors I most feared.

The wars we both lived through were different, but still, to see people we knew killed and the guilt that we still lived, I truly felt that no one but Jasper could ever understand me like he did.

**A/N another chapter for you. Hopefully this one will get more reviews!**


	26. Preparations

**Gift Or Torture?**

**Chapter 27**

**Preparations**

**JPOV**

I truly feel closer to Peter and Charlotte than the Cullen family, but I can't live with them. It would be too easy to slip back into that life. I don't want that. This way, while not as satisfying, is better for me at least. I normally enjoy seeing them; however, this time I just wanted them to leave. I wanted my Ginny back! I physically hurt for her. And when Jacob returned to the house after spending an evening with her, Seth, and Leah, I could smell Ginny on him. It made me very mad! I knew deep down nothing happened, but I kept picturing them on a dance floor. I wanted to kill him for being that close to Ginny! Dancing these days is pretty much dry sex.

I looked at Nessie, who clearly could smell Ginny on Jacob as well, and she was having similar feelings to my own. However, I would guess she still doesn't fully understand her feelings. Jacob saw me looking at Nessie and he came over. "Ginny has quite the sense of humour once she's loaded, but when she stops drinking and moving, she passes out pretty quick. We returned her to the apartment. Esme said she would take it from there. I carried her from the car to the apartment," he explained to myself and Nessie as to why her scent hung on him.

I nodded. "Things went fine then?"

He nodded. "Had to break one sleazeball's hand, but after that I kept her close to me. I think others might have thought we were a couple."

I knew most humans wouldn't push Jacob, but I didn't like the fact that others thought that he and my Ginny were a couple. I must have been broadcasting because suddenly Peter, Charlotte, Edward, Bella, and Rose were all standing in the room waiting for something. "Relax, man! I only danced with her! Really, she and Leah danced together more, and that drew some attention. Poor Seth, seeing his sister like that; he might be scarred for life."

Later, I overheard Edward speaking to Jacob. "You're very lucky Jasper doesn't have my gift or you would be dead."

"It was nothing! We were only dancing!" he protested.

"I know that, you know that, and she knows that, but Jasper would feel differently. And if Nessie were older, she would too."

Peter and I were sitting in the games room. "So I've met her; now tell me how you ended up with a human."

"I got lucky…" was the answer that came to me. It was true. "I can't even explain how her being around affects my gift, or curse, or whatever you want to call it." Peter and I in the past weighed out this 'gift' I had.

"Have you thought about getting off of this diet with her around?"

"And who should be my first meal? Her father, perhaps?" I paused only for a second. "No, she actually asked to come with me once when I was going to hunt. I won't risk her, though. I won't take the chance of slipping with her around. She's been through enough."

"Like what?" he asked.

"Like I was with Marie, in her war she was used by the one they call the Dark Lord. She understands me better than anyone. Alice tried; she really did, and she could understand the vampire, but …"

"Not the Major," he offered.

"Or the empathy. Ginny is brave, mentally strong, and she's powerful. She's a tomboy at heart. She loves with everything she has."

"Fuck, man! You're so far gone." He paused, "But she had that snack Esme so lovingly ran away with?" he teased. Peter likes to get a rise out of people.

"She thought that Elizabeth's father loved her, and until three weeks back, I thought she loved him. He is the biggest fool ever! I met him while in England, It's been a long time since I've wanted to kill someone and not bother to drink them. He told her she was fat but still fuckable, along with a number of other things."

Peter hissed at that.

"What did you do?"

"He, like her, is a wizard, so I let Ginny handle it. She did very well, and we never said I was a vampire, but he's a smart boy. He'll figure it out."

"You seem more relaxed," Peter noted.

"I know," I smiled. "It's nice to have someone I can surprise for a change. I'll always care for Alice, but at times I wonder if she didn't realize that because of her gift she would control things."

"Because of Alice, you are at peace. Because of Ginny, you are happy. Is she going to be changed?"

"She has a fuller understanding of what we are. She hasn't said she wants to be changed. I like her human. You haven't seen her truly blush; she can go almost as red as her hair. That does cause me to feel lust, but drinking her is the last thing I'm thinking of."

I think Peter and Charlotte realized that right now I needed to be with Ginny, so they left without much ado. Carlisle was very happy to have Esme, Elizabeth, and Ginny back home.

I knew I was going to be in a lot of trouble, but I decided that Ginny needed a car of her own. If she wanted to live as a Muggle, then she needed this. I got the perfect car for her. "Darlin', I don't want you to be upset with me, and hear my reasoning out."

"Jasper," she said warningly, "What did you do?"

"There are going to be times when you want to do things without me, and being all the way out here you need a car of your own. So I got you one." I already knew she was upset. Once more, the rest of the family came to watch the fireworks.

"You what?"

"I got you a basic necessity for living this far from the city." She was now mad and filled with pride.

"Darlin', you are my partner. I will marry you. I'm pretty sure that I'm allowed to provide for you," I tried to point out.

She knew the others were watching. "Fine!" She wasn't happy.

I walked over to her and placed my arm around her. "Arthur provides for Molly, so why can't I do the same?" I felt her slip into acceptance. "Come on, let's go have a look," I encouraged.

I led her to the garage and opened the big door. Along with the other cars sat a black Mustang convertible. She looked at it and smiled. "A Mustang?"

"Because of your Patronus." She smiled. "Go have a seat and see how it feels," I urged.

"She gets a Mustang and I got a tank?" Bella complained.

"Bella, she can walk on her own two feet without falling," Edward retorted.

I smiled and looked at Bella, "She's not like you were, yet she's not like us. Her magic also protects her." And then, soft enough so Ginny couldn't hear, I explained that Severus had added a few spells to the car. Yes, I lied to Bella, but it made her feel better. Edward nodded in thanks to me.

My lady carefully opened the car door and slid into the driver's seat. I waited for it. "Jasper, you know I can't drive a stick!"

I smiled and nodded at the others to leave. I slid into the passenger's seat. "I thought I could teach you how to handle a stick."

She looked sideways at me. "Oh, I know how to handle a stick! And I haven't had any complaints either. However, a manual transmission is another thing." She was clearly feeling playful.

"Well, Sugar, as far as your stick handling goes, I'll have to take your word for it for now. But I thought, in the meantime, this would help pass the time."

She turned towards me. "Jasper, what's with you, the connections with me, and horses?" she oddly phrased the question.

"It's perfect for you! A horse is a beautiful thing to look at, but it is also strong, like you! And you, at times, have the friskiness of a wild horse!"

"I never really thought about it, but most Patronuses do say something about the character of the person."

I smiled at her. "Then Molly's must be a bear; strong and extremely protective of her young. Look here." I pointed to the button that made the top come down.

"Why?"

"Because most of the time when you drive, it will be on sunny days when I can't be with you, and you do need sunlight. We need to keep your vitamin D up."

"And why the color black?"

"I chose the color because while a red Mustang was more girly, it seemed too cliche for you with your hair."

I could feel it; she loved it! "I should be mad."

The next day, I got Esme, Bella, and Rose to take Ginny shopping. Her body was quickly returning to what is was before she had become pregnant, and she didn't have much "Muggle" clothing that she could wear. "Ginny, here is a credit card with your name on it." I handed her a card before she left. She wasn't happy about this. "Please darlin', take it. I want to spoil you, but I won't tell you what to wear, so go get yourself some stuff."

She sighed. "This doesn't feel right," she said.

"Why?"

"It's not my money."

I looked intently at her, then took her hand and led her to the closest mirror. "Look at what you're wearing around your neck."

She looked at the fine gold chain that held a small Cullen family crest that all the family members wore. "You're wearing the Cullen family crest. I'm sure you haven't removed it since Carlisle gave it to you. That makes you a member of this family, and in this family what's mine is yours. The only things we don't share are our mates. This," I pressed the card slightly harder into her hand, "is yours and it became yours the second you chose to have Esme and Carlisle adopt Elizabeth." I could feel a cocktail of emotions coming from her; pride, guilt, happiness, and some acceptance was slowly crawling in. I could see tears forming in her eyes.

"I'm not good at this. I can't just swallow my pride." She made eye contact with my reflection.

I kissed her temple. "You're not swallowing anything. You need to come to terms with changes in your life. Go! Spend money! And don't even look at the price tags."

"I'm not good at spending money," she whispered.

"Let Esme and Rose teach you. I don't want Alice to decide she needs to return just to teach you. That's when she's at her scariest," I tried to assure her.

She finally cracked a small smile. "I'll try."

"I promise it will be fun."

Once she left, I waited about a half hour, then headed to the city myself. I was going to see Severus. I had called ahead, so he was expecting me. We were sitting in his living room. "Sir, I know that you don't trust me because of what I am, but I would like to allow you to feel what I feel for Ginny."

He gazed at me for a long moment, then nodded. I let all the love I felt for her to come at him; the desperation I felt when she left and I feared I had lost her, the joy I felt at getting her back, the happiness she made me feel every second she was near. All of it.

His eyes grew big with amazement. "You wanted to show me this why?"

I smiled. "I'm old-fashioned about some things and while I promise you I won't tell Ginny that you're her father, you still are her father. I want to ask your permission to ask Ginny to marry me."

His eyebrows shot up and he quickly rose, turned away from me, and began pacing. He was feeling anxious, concern, worry, a sense of loss, some doubt, pride, regret, and honor. "Why are you asking me? Wouldn't Arthur Weasley be the appropriate choice?"

"If he was her father, yes," I replied.

"He is the man who raised her, whom she thinks is her father." There was a huge amount of regret coming from him.

"Yes, I'm quite sure he believes he is her father. Why?"

"If you don't want to lie to her, you're better off not knowing," he told me.

I knew he was right. "Can I ask her?"

He was hesitant. "You may. She should refuse you though; she will be giving up a lot. She would have made a great mother."

I nodded. "If she wants children, she will have them," I vowed. "They just won't be mine. I refuse to risk her." I knew that once Ginny had decided to give Elizabeth to Esme and Carlisle that she told Severus everything about our family.

I had asked Esme to make sure Ginny got a dress that made her feel beautiful, and to get everything needed to complete her look. When I left the house to speak with Severus, Edward, Emmett, and even Jacob went out to set up the date spot for me.

Once Ginny returned with the others, I asked her to change into the dress she got. Then Rose helped her with her makeup while I changed into a pair of dress pants, shirt, and tie. I topped that with a leather coat. When Ginny came down the stairs, I can't remember ever seeing a more beautiful sight. The dress she wore was black, which made her skin look paler. It was a couple of inches above the knee and hugged her body. The top sat off the shoulder, but had straps that came up and around her collarbone, making a necklace useless. She wore her hair down in flowing curls.

"Jasper, what's going on?" she asked. She was extremely curious.

"Shopping today was an excuse to get you out of the house. This whole day has been planned. Will you come with me?"

She smiled a cocky smile that I found extremely sexy. "I wouldn't want all your plans to go to waste."

**A/n I heading in to the mountains for some camping, please feed me a review so I play nice with the other bears!**


	27. The Big ?

**Gift Or Torture**

**Chapter 28**

**The Big ?**

**GPOV**

I had a feeling something was up all day, but I decided to just go with it at this point. We drove for a good hour before Jasper finally parked the car at a small boat dock by a small lake. It was just before dusk, and we took a boat across the lake to a small island. When we got off the boat, there was a path lit with candles.

"The guys helped out a bit," he explained. The path was covered in rose petals of every color. He held my hand as we walked down the path which led to a clearing. There was a wooden, platform type dance floor and a table with two chairs set up. There was some champagne and a variety of fruit. I couldn't see where it was coming from, but there was romantic music playing.

"Tonight is about discovery. If you help me discover things about you, myself, and us, you will be rewarded," he promised.

"Okay," I replied.

He smiled at me and sat me down at the table. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Not really."

"Okay." He reached down to the other chair and pulled up a brandy glass with pieces of paper folded inside of it.

"There are 36 different types of kisses described in here. We're going to take turns asking each other questions and the reward for answering the question will be getting to try a kiss on the piece of paper you draw."

This had me very intrigued. "Sounds good. Who's first?"

He smiled that sexy half smile at me. "Ladies first."

"I get to ask the first question?" I asked for clarification.

"Yes, and everything is fair game. The complete truth only, and don't be scared to ask anything."

"Alright. Favorite color?" I asked.

"You need to relax." He seemed disappointed with my first question. He handed me a glass of champagne. "It changes over time, but I remember as a human liking the color blue." He reached out and gently picked up some of my hair. "Now it's red," he said as he let it tumble out of his hand. He then pulled the glass of papers towards himself, grabbed one, quickly read it, and smiled at me. "Close your eyes," he requested.

I did as I was told and felt him gently rub his nose across mine. I giggled a little at the silliness of it. "Your turn."

Without missing a beat, he asked, "Favorite type of music to listen to?"

I smiled; that was easy. "Anything that makes me feel an emotion." I then reached into the glass. The paper read: _Butterfly kiss. Flutter your eyelashes against the other's cheek, nose, lips, or neck._

I did as I read. Starting on his cheek, I worked my way over and down to his neck. He sighed. "I like that," he admitted. "Your turn."

Over the evening, we stopped at times and danced. "Alright, did you love Marie?" I asked later.

"At the time, I believed I did. However, over the years I have come to learn that what she and I had was not love." He reached in and pulled out another one. After looking at it, he smiled. "Trust me, okay?"

I smiled back. "Always." I then closed my eyes. This was a better date than I could have ever dreamed of! I felt him slowly tilt my head to the side, then his lips came down on my neck right at the jugular vein. He gently started sucking, but only sucking and not biting. I knew I should be scared as hell, but I knew Jasper and knew I was totally safe. I was actually getting very turned on! I moaned out loud.

He broke contact for a second. "You like?" he murmured against my neck and then returned to his task.

"Mmm, I love!" I know I whimpered when he pulled away.

"I guess this is the last question." He moved around so he could look into my eyes. "Ginevra, you have become my whole world. I love you more than I ever dreamed possible, and each day that love only grows! I have spent time without you and hated it, and I never want to feel that again. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? No, my life?" He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a ring

I didn't even bother looking at the ring. I looked right back into his eyes. "Yes!" I beamed.

He slipped the ring onto my finger. "That's your reward for playing along."

"But there's still one left in the glass!" I reached over and grabbed the last one. It read, _Lick kiss._ I leaned in and, instead of touching his lips with mine, I gently ran my tongue slowly over his lips and ended with a light kiss.

"Mmm, I want to try that one." He then returned the kiss, then whispered in my ear, "I think we should head back to the house. You will need to get some rest."

I went to protest, but he laid his finger on my lips. "It's a long drive back and you're going to end up talking with Rose, Esme, and Bella when we return. I'm not being selfish here, but I'm guessing it will be a couple of hours before I get to be alone with you once we're home. Even then, if I can't make love to you yet I'm still going to make you reach climax," he vowed.

We made our way back to the boat and Jasper rowed it back to the dock. He had placed his leather coat on me and held me close. "You're lucky Alice isn't around! If she was, by the time we get back the whole wedding would have been all planned out!"

I glanced up at him. "I don't care who she is; I will not have your ex-wife plan our wedding! Besides, Mum would kill me. Thank Merlin all the guests will be either wizards or vampires! I'm sure Mum has planned an outdoor wedding in the backyard for me from the second I was born. I could just see it; if I had Muggle relatives trying to explain to them our 'In case of sun...' plan."

"You'll let your mother plan your wedding, but not Alice?"

I laughed. "Have you met my mother? Trust me, there's nothing scarier than her!"

Once in the car, I finally looked down at my ring. It was a multi-stone setting with a large center diamond, three smaller stones on either side, and then diamonds set into the platinum, giving the ring a sparkle effect that was like how Jasper's skin shone in the sunlight.

"I love it," I told him.

"I know you do, but I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to look at it!" He took my hand and lightly kissed it.

"The ring is only a symbol; what really matters are our feelings." I explained my reason for not focusing on the ring. I felt his love for me come through. "I love when you do that," I admitted. "Hearing you are loved is great, knowing it is wonderful, but there is nothing like feeling it!" I paused for a second, "Jasper, I would guess Edward would be the only one who could tell you, but what others feel when you send them a feeling; is it the exact same as how you feel it?"

"It's not quite as strong as what I feel, but it's close."

When we arrived back at the house, I was sure if Esme could, she would have been crying. She was so happy for us! "Oh Ginny, Jasper, you two will be so happy!"

**A/n I know it was short but what do you think?**


	28. What Alice Saw

**Gift Or Torture**

**Chapter 29**

**What Alice Saw**

**JPOV**

"Jasper, can you come for a walk with me?" Carlisle asked.

I felt something stronger coming from him about Ginny than what Severus had felt towards her. I nodded and followed him outside. We walked in silence for a long time before he spoke.

"Jasper, I'm happy that you found Ginny and I know how happy she makes you, but the time will come when she ages and you won't find her as attractive. I'm worried about her happiness when that shift happens." I knew he was right; one day she would see me looking at a human and think I want them instead of her. "I know how her feelings affect you, and I don't want to see either one of you hurt. I know that others think I don't view you as one of my children the same way I do the others. It's true; I don't. I can't view you that way because in many ways you have far more experience than I do. I honestly view you more like a brother."

I knew this was how he felt, but it was nice to hear it. I looked at him. "Do you realize that you don't feel the same about Ginny as you do Rose or Alice?"

I felt embarrassment coming from him. "It's not…"

"I know, it's all of how you feel towards Esme, but not sexual."

"She made me a real father. I will get to see Elizabeth grow up," Carlisle stated with a smile.

"I understand your feelings. As for Ginny, she is aware that she will continue to age and I won't."

"How does she feel about being changed?" he asked.

"When I found her in England, she thought I was asking that of her. The idea scares her."

He smirked. "Not like Bella, then. Have you two talked about what scares her about it?"

"No, but we will one day."

The next morning, Ginny made plans to head over to Severus' to use the Floo there to call her parents and tell them the news. I offered to have us fly over so we could tell them face to face, but she said no because if we did that, it would instantly become a wedding planning session. She just wants to enjoy how she's feeling right now before the stress of a wedding entered the picture. While she was gone, the dogs returned to visit.

I respect them and the fact that they were willing to fight alongside us, but as a vampire, I still have a few issues with them. Jacob is fine; he's around so much that it no longer bothers me. Leah, however, is very hard to be around. She is still hurting over the loss of Sam, so her emotions are very strong and a bit too much for me to handle at times. However, with Ginny around it is easier.

It was sunny out today, which is why Ginny went to Severus' alone. I had taken off and hunted while she was gone. I was trying to clear my head; for the last couple of hours something wasn't right. I couldn't say what it was, but something was bothering me.

I returned to the house, showered, and had just sat down to read. My mind kept wandering to what was taking Ginny so long. Most likely, Molly had started planning the wedding and Ginny would have got caught up in the excitement. That made me wonder whether there was a cost to these Floo calls. My cell phone then went off. I pulled it out of my pocket to see it was Carlisle. Why would he be calling? "Hello, Carlisle."

"Jasper, Ginny's just been brought in here. She's been attacked."

"Attacked? By what?"

"A human, Jasper. She looks similar to Rose when I found her." I dropped the phone. I had to get to the hospital, fast! The cars were all useless; someone would see me. And how would I get from the parking lot to the hospital without being seen?

Then it hit me! I ran up the stairs and grabbed my leather coat. I then followed my nose to find Jacob, who was with the rest of the family. "I'm taking your bike," I said. It wasn't a question.

"What's up?" he asked as he tossed the keys to me.

I didn't reply, but Edward had heard my thoughts. "Ginny's been attacked," he explained.

I stepped into the garage and, for the first time, put on a helmet that Alice had sent. We thought it was for Jacob, but she must have seen my need for this. The helmet had a full face shield. I jumped on the bike as I heard Jacob.

"Do you even know how to drive it?" He was slightly panicked.

I smiled at his lack of faith, then I kicked it into gear. I like the way it purred. I slowly turned the bike around and took off down the driveway before hitting the open road. I was driving it at top speed and wove in and out of traffic. I'm guessing I might have even caused a couple of accidents, but I didn't care. I had to get to Ginny! I pulled into the parkade and stopped in the first open stall I saw. Carlisle was standing there.

"Alice called. She was worried about you. Jasper, I know you're worried about Ginny, but medicine has come a long way. Please think about what you're about to do; you're planning to walk into an emergency room where people are bleeding."

"Its okay, Carlisle. I went hunting this morning. What's her condition?" I asked as I started marching towards the entrance.

"She's been raped and beaten, but she was awake when they brought her in. She's very upset and has twenty-seven broken bones."

He stayed close to me. I could feel he was scared I would slip anyway. I felt him reach out and pull me back.

"Jasper, slow down! You're moving too fast!" I knew he was right.

At the entrance, I took one last breath. I knew the second I was with Ginny I would be able to control myself. When we reached her room, a nurse was standing there at the door. "Dr. Cullen, the police are talking with her. They just went in," she explained. He nodded.

"Let's wait outside," Carlisle suggested.

"No! You saw her?" I inquired hopefully.

"Not really. I was in the triage area when she was brought in. I wouldn't have realized it was her if not for her scent," he whispered to me. " I was told by the doctor working on her what they know so far."

I nodded and then listened. The wall may have been soundproof, but only to a human.

"_Can you tell us what happened?"_ a woman's voice came.

"_I was in the garage, I heard a noise behind me, and I turned to see what it was." _Her voice was calm. For all the emotions I could usually feel from Ginny, she may as well have been a TV; she was blank.

"She's in a state of shock. She has gone on autopilot as her mind deals with what happened," Carlisle explained.

"_I woke up and he was on top of me... he was in me."_

"Jasper, calm down. You're projecting," Carlisle warned.

"_He kept hitting me."_

"_Can you tell us what he looked like?"_

"_He was big," _Ginny continued.

"_Tall?"_** t**he male officer asked.

"_No, fat." _She paused and finally started crying._ "Can I take a shower now?"_

"_I don't think the doctors want you standing right now. Just a couple more questions, miss. Do you know him?"_

"_No."_

"_Did you scratch or hit him?"_

"_No, I couldn't." _ I got the feeling there was more that she wasn't saying. A nurse then knocked and entered the room with some pills.

"The morning after pill," Carlisle explained.

I felt that this nurse really cared. _"Dr. Cullen is outside, with another man with blond hair," _she gently told Ginny.

"_I don't want to see him!"_

"_Who, Dr. Cullen?"_

"_Why don't you want to see him?" _the lady cop asked.

"_She just gave Dr. Cullen and his wife her baby," t_he nurse related.

"_Carlisle can come in, but not Jasper." _Ginny's words killed me. She didn't want me!

Carlisle cupped my shoulder. "Relax, Jasper. She just needs some time. She most likely is thinking you'll view her differently now," he tried to assure me. "Look, go call the family. I'm sure Rose is going nuts. And call Severus too"

I pulled out my cell phone and called Severus. "Severus, it's Jasper."

"So she said yes, did she?"

"Severus, something's happened-"

"What did you do to her?" He was instantly enraged.

"She's in the hospital. She was raped trying to leave your apartment building."

"Which hospital?"

"The University."

"I'll be right there." He then hung up the phone.

When Carlisle was with her, I could feel her upset and disgust at what had happened. She sobbed in his arms, but she wouldn't let me in the room.

As darkness covered the city, the others came to the hospital. They moved Ginny out of the ER and into her own room. She was going to need surgery to repair some of the damage. She still wouldn't see me. Rose arrived and she, too, was a mess. Even without having seen Ginny, this was clearly pushing her memories to the forefront. She came over to me.

"How is she doing?"

I didn't reply with words at first; I just sent her Ginny's feelings. She closed her eyes and nodded.

"How are you doing?" Rose asked.

"She won't let me see her," I pained.

Rose sat down next to me. "She loves you," she whispered, then took my hand and squeezed it. "She needs some time."

The door to her room opened and Severus stepped out. He looked like he had aged ten years in the few hours since I called him. I saw Rose move over towards Edward, who had been sitting in the hallway. They both had a sick feeling in them, and Edward's had only gotten worse. He was speaking in a hushed voice to Rose, but my eyes were on Severus, who was talking to Carlisle. I moved towards them.

"She needs to get out of here. This wasn't a random act." I could feel his pain and discomfort over everything. "This was revenge. Magic was involved also, and prison will do nothing for those responsible."

"She has way too many injuries to be released," Carlisle determined.

"Having to go over this again and again with the police isn't going to help her state of mind," Severus pressed to Carlisle.

"You saw how she looks! We're looking at a month in hospital at the least," the doctor surmised.

Severus shook his head. "I can heal most of the damage myself in a day or two at most with no need for knives or thread."

I could feel Carlisle's curiosity peak. I knew he wanted to see magical heeling. "No, I will not allow her to be used as a guinea-pig!" I finally spoke.

"A guinea pig? I don't see it that way! Six weeks with her jaw wired shut, or a simple potion and at the worst, a night of discomfort? Just for her jaw!" Severus spat at me.

Carlisle placed a hand on me; he was trying to calm me. "Forgive me, but I thought you were a Potions professor," he said to Severus. I hadn't told my family about the fact that Severus was Ginny's father.

"I was for seventeen years, but I'm also a licensed healer."

I must have been broadcasting. Carlisle squeezed my shoulder. "Jasper, her whole life she has been healed like this. We need to respect it." He looked at Severus. "I have a surprising amount of medical equipment at the house. Can we compromise? You can heal her and I will observe and check the effects. We can do it all at the house."

Severus nodded.

"Then I'll start the paperwork on getting her out of here. She'll still be here for a couple of days."

Severus shook his head. "I can make files on computers disappear and make people forget. Give me one hour, then have all those people who worked on her together. I only need about ten seconds with them. I'll Apparate her to your home."

"Driving would be better," Carlisle said.

"Too far and too much jarring on her. Have everything ready." He then took off down the hall.

Carlisle looked at me. "Jasper, she's not ready to see you yet, but someone should sit with her. Where's Rose?" His phone rang. "It's Alice."

"Carlisle, they're going after the wrong person. Well, not really. Yes he did it to her, but he wasn't in control of himself," she said, panicked.

"Rose and Edward?"

"Yes. Like Severus said, this was magic, and revenge. Don't give Jas the phone!"

When I heard her say those words, I knew. She knew all along this was going to happen! That's why she left before we returned from London!

"You bitch!" I seethed.

"Jasper, calm down! Remember, Ginny is right in that room! She needs you now," Carlisle reminded me. "Did you know?" he asked Alice.

"Carlisle, the guy they're about to kill did rape her, but he's not to blame." The phone then went dead.

Bella's hand was on my back. "I'll go talk to her. Maybe I can convince her to see you."


	29. After Effects

**Gift Or Torture?**

**After Effects**

**Chapter 30**

**GPOV**

I really don't remember much from the first couple of days after the rape, other than wanting Jasper. However, to his perfect eyes, I would be disgusting and I didn't want to see that look in his eyes. I wasn't going to let him see me like that. Severus had me pretty high on pain relief potions, but I knew that Rose was by my side from the minute I was brought home. She had made herself my personal nursemaid. Finally, the pain potions were no longer needed and I was able to speak and know what I was saying.

"I won't push you to talk about it," Rose vowed to me.

I looked up at her; she had long before told me her story. "How did you deal with it?" I asked.

She frowned. "Ginny, it's not fair to compare. I also had to deal with being a newborn."

I was surprised she didn't point out the fact that she knew at least one of the people who raped her. "I don't want to bring up bad memories for you."

She smiled at me. "Those all came back to me the minute I heard what happened to you." She paused, "I need to tell you something. When we heard, we all went to the hospital. Edward saw in your mind what happened, and the guy that did this to you has been taken care of."

"What?" I panicked.

"Relax, he's only dead. We never drank him. Personally, I wouldn't have wanted to." She frowned again. "Ginny, look; either we did it, or once you were more yourself, Jasper would have. And he's more likely to have slipped. It wasn't just for you or some way to deal with the past. It was also for Jasper. Speaking of him, he's really worried about you. I understand why you didn't want to see him, but he won't leave the house! He's worried sick about you. Let him in now."

I wondered, "Honestly, how to I look? Can you tell what happened to me? Be truthful."

"There's still some blood in the whites of you eyes. Both Carlisle and Severus said there's nothing they can do about that. You'll just have to wait for it to clear up on its own. Otherwise, you look pretty good." She paused. "He loves you, and all he cares about is knowing you're not pushing him away."

I knew she was right, but I didn't want him seeing me with the reminders of what happened to me to be so clear. I was scared if he saw that, he would walk away like everyone else before him had.

At that point, the door opened and Jasper was standing there. "Darlin,' you're literally killing me out here. Nothing is ever going to make me leave." He rushed to my side and placed his arms around me. "I love you, and nothing, or no one, is ever going to change that."

It was only then that I realized just how much I had hurt him by not letting him see me before. I knew if it were possible, he would be crying. "I'm sorry!" I started crying and held onto him with all the strength I had.

Rose slipped out of the room.

I'm not sure how long we held each other, but when Severus and Carlisle entered the room and spoke to me, I got startled.. "Ginny, it's okay. We just want to check on how you're doing," Carlisle explained as Severus came forward and gently touched my forehead, checking for fever. "You're a little warm, considering you've just been hugging an ice cube," he told me.

"Good to know you still care!" I teased him back. I spent too many years with the twins. Humor is a great way to deal with stress.

"Well, how are you feeling?" he asked as I noticed Leah enter the room with a couple of vials.

"Severus, you forgot these." She handed them to him.

"Thank you, Miss Clearwater," he said dismissively. Even I noticed the hurt look on Leah's face. Both Severus and Carlisle did a number of checks on me. "Ginny, how are you feeling?"

"A bit achey. Can I try getting up and walking around?" I knew exactly what I wanted. "I want a shower. I don't feel clean." I started to cry as the memories started really hitting home. I felt like I could still smell the guy on me. "Jasper," I said, looking at him with tear-filled eyes. "Tell me the truth; can you smell him on me?"

He didn't need to answer; the look that flashed on his face told me he could. "No, darlin'," he lied.

"Ginny, I don't think you're up to standing for that long. Maybe have a bath," Severus suggested.

"No! I want him washed away!" I screamed. "Rose! Rose?"

She came in the room looking very protective. "What is it, Ginny?"

"Please, Rose, help me! Help me get clean!" I sobbed.

I knew her expression matched mine. "Of course." She nodded towards me. "Out, all of you!" she ordered the men.

"Rose, I don't think the bone in her leg has mended fully yet," Carlisle warned.

Rose nodded at him, but spoke to me, "Let me start the shower for you."

I liked Rosalie before this happened, but now... Emmett once said she was an angel, and he's right, She helped me in the shower. We were in there for well over an hour and she never once complained or made me feel like she was uncomfortable.

Afterwards, she dried my hair and put it in a braid so it wouldn't be in my way. When I wanted quiet, she was quiet, and when I needed to talk, she listened. However, I could tell she needed to hunt. And Severus and Carlisle wanted to check me again.

Jasper returned to my side along with Severus and Carlisle. I noticed Leah right behind them. She seemed to be hovering. I wondered why.

"How are you feeling?" Carlisle asked.

"I got a little dizzy in the shower, and there is some pain in my groin area," I informed him.

Carlisle looked at Severus, who explained, "Dizziness could be from all the different potions, or just not having been up for a couple of days now. As for the pain, I'm not sure."

"What type of pain? Carlisle asked.

I hated this question! It's pain! "Like I felt right after having Elizabeth."

"Do you want something for the pain?" Severus suggested.

"It's okay."

Carlisle smiled at me. "We're going to let you get some rest. Jasper can stay, but only if you sleep."

I nodded and held Jasper's hand. Severus and Carlisle left, followed by Leah. Perhaps she was just around in case they needed to check something they felt I might want a chaperone for.

"You were curious about something when we first came in," Jasper stated from his chair next to the bed.

"A little, I guess. What's with Leah? Why is she here? I thought she doesn't really like you guys."

A real smile escaped onto his lips. "It seems that Leah has imprinted..."

"Really? That's great! She should have happiness."

"...on Severus," he finished. "She came with the others to the hospital and saw him there."

I was okay with the idea of this. "But Severus is being so cold towards her."

He nodded. "He is rather focused on you right now. Edward and I knew before even the other wolves did. Edward convinced her that this was not the time to tell Severus."

"She's a wolf and he might not take it well."

"That's what I was thinking. She may be bitter and bitchy, but she has good reasons. She should get some happiness. I'm kind of worried about her."

**JPOV**

"They would be good together; they can understand each other." I was trying to get her to focus on something else.

Seeing her like this was killing me! I was once called the God of War, and here my mate had been so badly hurt that I couldn't leave her. Others took care of the scumbag who did this to her. I should have been with her, protecting her! I couldn't tell her I could still smell the foul odor of the pig who had hurt her so. I knew how she would feel about that.

She had fallen asleep when Rose slipped back into the room. "Jasper, you need to hunt," she reminded me. "Why don't you come with me?"

I just shook my head.

"You need to!" she pushed.

"I won't leave her alone," I swore.

"She's not alone. Carlisle and Severus are here, along with the wolves. Everyone is here! Just you and I will go."

"No! What if she has a bad dream?"

"If I stay with her later, will you go then?" Rose asked.

"Maybe," I said in a non-committal way.

When she woke up, it wasn't a dream that woke her, but pain. Severus and Carlisle didn't understand why the pain was getting worse. She should have been feeling up to walking around a bit by now. I wasn't going to leave her side until she was up and around again. She was hurting so much, both physically and mentally.


	30. The Decision

**Gift Or Torture?**

**Chapter 31**

**The Decision**

**JPOV**

On day four, Rose kicked me out of the room so she could bathe Ginny again. I left and sat in the kitchen where Severus was. He had said a few things back at the hospital that I needed to know about, and since seeing Ginny at the hospital I felt guilt coming off of him. I sat across from him and gazed at him. "You said this was revenge. Revenge for what?" I asked.

He looked up at me. "Do you remember asking me if I ever did anything I regretted, then telling me you had done it a thousand times?"

I nodded.

"When you asked if I had done the same thing once, I now have done it twice. It's my fault this happened to her."

While I knew he would never hurt her, I didn't understand what he was saying. "What do you mean?"

"Twenty-one years ago, I told the Dark Lord of a prophecy I had overheard. He decided that it was meant to be about the son of the woman I loved, so he killed her. Not a day goes by that I don't regret telling him. Now I have done it again. After you left the other day, I had a visitor."

**Flashback: Severus POV**

I opened my door to find Draco Malfoy on the other side. "Severus, I need to talk to you." He seemed panicked, which is highly abnormal for him.

"Draco, what are you doing here?" I asked.

He moved into the apartment, looking around before finally sitting down. "I've made the biggest mistake of my life," he admitted. He did look upset.

"What did you do?"

"The one thing Father always warned me about. I fell in love."

"So? Why are you here?" I asked again.

"The real mistake is I let her go. I don't think I can get her back," he explained.

"You finally found a girl who said no to you, Draco?"

He shook his head and smiled, like he was remembering something very pleasant.. "No, she said yes. A great number of times. Severus, it's Ginny Weasley. I know you know where she is."

"Draco, it's been almost a year! What happened that you realized this now?"

His elbows were resting on his knees. He dropped his head down and ran his hand through his hair. "I saw her a couple of weeks back on Diagon Alley. She and I have a child together. I didn't realize how I felt until I saw that guy with his hands all over her, and her smiling at him. She's mine! I want her back! I need her!"

"Seeing this made you realize you love her?" I asked skeptically. "What about the last nine months, Draco?"

"I fucked up! I'm never going to say otherwise. Just like you did with that Lily Evans. I wanted and needed to believe she was nothing, but when I saw her with him, I never felt such pain. It felt like my heart was being ripped apart. I have to get her back! I have to make her understand it was all a mistake!"

"Why do you think I know where she is?"

"You left about the same time she did, and I know you were in the pub when she told me she was expecting. The Weasleys have been seen talking to you each time you return, and I overheard her oldest brother talking with his wife at Gringott's. I don't even know what she had; do I have a son or a daughter?"

**Flashback ended. **

"I wanted to believe him," Severus continued, "I wanted her to end up with someone she could have children with, grow old with, and be happy with. I have known his family for years. Lucius is a good friend. I didn't really think in the long run that she would be truly happy with you. I told him if he hung around he would most likely see her in a couple of days.

"Draco was lying, but yes, he wanted to find her. I saw her whole rape in her mind; even the things she's blocking out right now. Draco is the one who caused her to be raped. He wanted her dead. He watched it all happen and came over once it was done. This was her payback for having Elizabeth."

He may not have been weeping, but for the feelings coming from him, I couldn't hold this against him. "Understand, Draco is my godson. I wanted to believe him! She's my daughter, and I would never do anything to intentionally hurt her! Draco used my own past against me, and like mother, like daughter, I betrayed the two women I most love in this world!" He was pleading for forgiveness; not from me, but from her.

"I can't give you her forgiveness for this. You will have to tell her."

"She'll never forgive me," he lamented.

I knew Ginny; she would forgive him. "She will, in time, if she knows the truth. The whole truth. You need to tell her."

He knew I was right, but we both also knew this wasn't the time yet. Ginny had so much on her plate right now.

With each hour that passed, Ginny only seemed to be getting worse! I was worried, as was everyone else. Both Carlisle and Severus were beginning to think that maybe they made a mistake by taking her from the hospital. I overheard them talking in the homemade lab Carlisle set up while I was sitting with Ginny.

"Something's wrong. I need her to have a CAT scan done," Carlisle said.

"You mean taking her back to the hospital?" Severus repeated. I knew he hated the idea as much as I did.

"Yes," Carlisle stated.

"Carlisle, there's something on this slide." Leah's voice broke the tension.

I heard shifting around, followed by an intake of breath. "No, it can't be..."

"What?" Severus asked.

"It looks like necrotizing fascitis," Carlisle answered.

Necrotizing fascitis is more commonly known as flesh-eating disease! I looked down at her to see she was still sleeping.

Carlisle continued, "It's in her blood, but where is it in her body? There are no physical signs of it."

"The rape! It's internal!" Leah realized. She was clearly visualizing it. "She was still healing after having Elizabeth."

"I need to open her up! I need to see how bad it is. Do you have any magical treatment for this?"

"No," came Severus' voice. I could hear his pain in that one word.

"This is treatable, but she may lose her ability yo have children," Carlisle told Severus. "But I need to see how bad it is."

Ten minutes later, all the others; Esme, Rose, Emmett, Edward, Bella, and Nessie, left the house to hunt. Carlisle was prepping for surgery. Severus, Leah and I would assist, and Jacob was to watch Elizabeth.

I was monitoring her vitals, Severus was assisting, Leah was both playing nurse and watching me and worrying that I would try to drain Ginny, and I passed over whatever Carlisle asked for. When he began to cut I could feel both Severus and Leah's concern and fear. I just kept looking down into Ginny's face. I didn't need any machine to let me know how she was doing. As soon as she was opened up, I could smell it; the odor I thought was the scent of the man who raped her was now permeating the room. It was disgusting! I didn't even want to breathe it in! It was the smell of my Ginny being eaten from the inside out!

"I'm closing her up," Carlisle said all too soon. "There's too much damage done."

"What? I thought you could cut away the affected area," Leah said.

Carlisle looked at Severus and I realized it; she was too far gone. My reason for being was dying! She was being eaten alive, but not by what her own family feared. At the idea of losing her I felt frozen. She had, in such a short window of time, become my reason for being, and as quickly as she came she was leaving me! There would be no point to continuing without her.

I felt as if I was on autopilot. I helped Carlisle with the clean up and allowed Severus to sit with her. As much as I wanted to be with her for every second she had left, I needed to get control of my own emotions. Carlisle hadn't spoken since closing Ginny back up, but now that we were almost done, he spoke to me, "Jasper, you and I both know this doesn't have to end like this."

It's odd that we can't cry, but our eyes can still sting like we're going to. "She thought, when I found her in England, that I was asking her to become one of us, and the idea scared her. And with all the drugs and pain, she's in no state of mind to be asked and to give a real answer," I said sadly.

"You're willing to let her go?" he asked.

"Never! I will never let her go! The pack will get their wish to rip one of us apart."

"Change her," came Severus' voice. I was taken by surprise; I hadn't even heard him enter the room. "I've only just come to know her. I'm not ready to lose her either." His reasoning didn't need explaining.

"It's not your choice," I lamented.

Severus looked at Carlisle. "I know the laws are pretty similar. She is my daughter. I never gave up my rights to her. She isn't able to make her own choices and I am her next of kin," he explained.

Then they both looked at me. I was trying to think of her and not my own selfish wants. "She..."

"I know she told you her life story," Severus cut in, "And for the first time in her life, she was truly carefree and happy. She should be happy."

"I'll do it." As soon as he asked, it wasn't even a question. "But I won't spend an eternity lying to her. You have to tell her your story before we do this."

**A/N Sorry I know this and the last chapter were very short, but it seemed to big of one chapter.**

**And I have to ask was something wrong with the last chapter, the reviews were lacking?**


	31. The Gift of Torture

**Gift Or Torture?**

**Chapter 32**

**The Gift of Torture**

**Severus POV**

From the second Jasper called and told me Ginevra had been attacked, I have been sick. Once I arrived at the hospital and was allowed to see her, the feeling only grew stronger, reaching what I believe was its high point when I saw her rape in her mind. However, when I saw her insides being eaten away, I knew I was wrong. My daughter was dying! I missed everything! Every milestone of her life until now, and now the few things in her life I could be a part of were being ripped away!

I would never see her on her wedding day looking beautiful. But there was another way! She could go on! She could continue! The only asking price was for her to know that I was her father. It was never a concern to me. I agreed on the spot. Once she woke from surgery, she was given some weaker pain killers. Jasper felt it would be easier on her if she knew what was about to happen.

I knew it was tearing him apart, but he left us alone. "Ginny, there's something I need to tell you. Please let me finish, then you can ask any questions you have." She nodded and I could tell she was still in pain. I wouldn't prolong this. "There's more to my story than Potter knows." As I spoke, the memories came flying past my mind's eye.

**Flashback**

It was a surprisingly calm night and I was sitting in my parents' home in Cokeworth. My mum and dad had passed away the winter of my seventh year. I was having a drink after returning from a Death Eaters meeting. The screams of someone being tortured had given me a headache. Suddenly, the peace of the evening was disrupted by thumping on the door. I wondered who would have the audacity to pound on my door at one in the morning! I ignored it, but the noise wouldn't go away. Finally, I rose and went to answer the door.

On the other side was Lily Evans – rather, Potter. She looked beautiful. Her red hair hung around her shoulders looking like flames. My heart ached at seeing her. "Severus Snape! How could you? He's my son! MY bloody son! I know you hate James, but MY SON! How could you?" she screamed.

As much as I loved her, it was late and I was tired. "Would you shut up!" I grabbed her arm and pulled her into the house. "I have neighbors!" Only in the light inside the house did I see the tear that sat in her lovely green eye.

"After everything, I still stood up for you when they said you joined the Death Eaters!'"she said.

"I had no way of knowing the Dark Lord would think it was your son that daft woman was muttering about!" I shot back.

"I don't care. A baby, Severus! They were right all along; you're only out for yourself!" She shook her head disapprovingly at me.

"Who else do I have?" I asked in return. "There's no one."

"I didn't want to believe it when Dumbledore told me! I just kept thinking, 'No, I was his friend! He begged for my forgiveness once, but in the end I really am nothing but a Mudblood.'"

"Don't ever use that word!" I yelled and turned away. "You're everything to me!" I whispered, half hoping she heard, yet scared to death she had.

"What- you, you said..."

"Of course I did! The whole reason your precious James ever bothered with me is because of the fact that we were friends. You standing up for me would have only made it worse." She was silent. "Yes Lily, he stopped once you were clearly not going to forgive me."

"I never realized, but you saw it all. Why?"

I closed my eyes. "Because I was always watching, Lily. Because..."

"You loved me," she wrongly guessed.

"Love, not that it matters now. Mrs. Potter, go home to your husband and son." Even I heard the hurt in my voice. I had wanted to sound cold.

"Sev..."

"Go!" I ordered.

She never listened; instead she came around and faced me. "I never realized. I'm sorry! Had I known..." She then pulled herself up and kissed me. I took hold of her as I had dreamed of a thousand times and kissed her back. When I woke the next morning, she was gone without a word. I never saw her alive again.

**Flashback ends**

"When I first began being a spy for the Order, no one other than Dumbledore knew. However, after Potter was born, something happened. Lily found out it was I who told the Dark Lord of the Prophecy and she came to me. She always could find me. She came to give me a piece of her mind. Things didn't go as she had planned, but better than I had ever dreamed. That was the last time I saw her alive.

"Then after I was instituted as the Headmaster at Hogwarts, I found a couple of memories Dumbledore had left for me. The first was of Lily; she had come to him panicked. She was pregnant and she knew that there was no chance that this baby was Potter's child. Her and Potter's marriage had been strained since the found out the Dark Lord wanted to kill their son. Dumbledore helped Lily conceal the fact she was carrying a child. Because they knew this child was mine, they knew the risk that the baby would be in if anyone ever found out about her. There was also the risk to my cover, so Lily agreed to give her baby away. The baby was put in the place where she stood the best chance of surviving the war and outcome; with a Pure blood family who viewed things the same way the Order did. If things went badly because the baby was Pure blood, she was still a girl, so she would live.

"The family she was placed with was asked because people wouldn't really be sure if the wife had been pregnant, and they all shared the same coloring as Lily. Molly and Arthur asked Dumbledore to do a memory charm on them so even they wouldn't know she wasn't theirs. They kept the name Lily chose, for she chose the name of the heroine in my favorite book; Ginevra. I only found out when you were sixteen."

Her eyes were big with amazement, but she had no tears because of her dehydration. "You're my father?" she asked.

"I didn't want you to know or to feel you had to get to know me. Until today, you were the daughter of a Pure blood family; now you're the daughter of a Muggle born and a Death Eater, not something thought of too highly in our world," I confessed

She shook her head. "I'm the daughter of the bravest wizard ever!" I knew if she had been healthier when she was told this, her reaction would have been stronger.

"Ginevra, there's more." The door opened and Jasper came in, but spoke not a word. "When Carlisle opened you up, he found - Ginny, you're dying. I've - I have asked that they change you."

She looked from me to Jasper. "You didn't want this to happen to me?" she questioned.

He rushed to her side. "That's not it. I remember your fear when you thought I was asking you to be changed."

She looked down for a second, then asked, "How long before you have to do it?"

"You're in pain now, but changing is even more painful. Carlisle feels the sooner, the better."

"I have a couple of requests then." We both nodded. "I want to have some time with Elizabeth. And Jasper, I want you to be the one to change me."

Carlisle then came in the room. "I don't think that's the best idea," he stated. "It's not about control, Jasper. I'm concerned about how you will be affected during the change, knowing that you did that to her."

**Jasper POV**

I didn't leave her side. She asked everyone to give her and I a moment alone. "Jasper, are you sure you want this?" she asked. She was so very weak. I was surprised by the self-doubt I felt coming from her.

I sat on the bed facing her. "Not want you? It was never even an option," I whispered, reassuring her.

"I mean forever?" her voice cracked.

"Forever is more than I ever dared to hope for. You're literally everything I ever wanted or needed. Is this why you're unsure?"

She nodded ever so slightly. Clearly, even the smallest movement hurt her.

I grinned at her and decided to lighten the mood. "I'm a little scared of you as a newborn. With your temper, I might not be able to handle you!"

She laughed a little and I felt her pain spike.

"Esme is going to bring Elizabeth in now. Are you ready for that?"

She was clearly fighting for her words. "Severus, too."

She didn't know it, but she could have asked me for the moon and I would have got it for her right now. "Of course."

"How long after?"

"About a year. Bella was able to do it right away, but that's nowhere near normal."

"He can stay as long as he wants," she ordered.

"I'll let him stay until we fly you out of here. We're too close to humans here."

"I want him to be able to see Elizabeth whenever he wants," she ordered as the door opened and Esme came in.

Esme laid Elizabeth in Ginny's arms. "Every day, if he wants. He just took a moment to collect himself."

I watched for the next hour as she held Elizabeth in her arms. We helped her turn on her side so that she was really laying next to her daughter. I knew the pain she was in, but understood she needed this. The next time she would see Elizabeth, she would be over a year old.

When it was time, Carlisle returned; this time with Rose. "Ginny, are you okay with this?" Rose asked.

Ginny looked up at her. "I'll only miss a bit of her growing up."

Rose gave her a smile. "You're going to be stunning. Emmett is going with you and Jasper, and I'll come in a couple of weeks." She then took the baby out of the room.

Carlisle came forward. "I'm going to give you something for the pain now. I'll give it a few minutes to start working, then I'll inject the venom."

"Jasper, I want the last thing I feel before the burning starts to be you kissing me," she muttered and I nodded. I knew I would miss being around a human and not want to drain them, but I would have her forever.

I watched as the morphine was pushed into her, then again as the venom entered her small body. I felt her pain as the burning took over. I could feel Severus' sorrow, but everything else was just background noise.

I just watched; her pain was killing me. I remember Rose coming to me and asking me to go hunt again, but I refused,

**Rose's POV**

"Rose?" Alice's voice said out of my cell.

"You knew this was going to happen to her?" Like Jasper, I was pissed.

"Rose, I know, and I'm sorry, but please hear me out. This was the only way! I tried seeing every possible way around this. Any other way ended with Jasper hurt to the point he couldn't go on. This might not seem like it, but it's for the best. Rose, I think this is why you had the past you did; to be there for Ginny to help her deal with it. And you will also deal with your own past though her.

"Jasper will never lose her now, and he needs her so much. It will take years for both you and him to forgive me for not stopping it from happening. I know that. But even the fact her father is Leah's imprint proves this had to happen."

"You saw that?" Rose sounded shocked.

"I saw Jasper telling Ginny. Look, Jasper and Emmett need to be in Alaska by 4 this afternoon. That's when her change will be complete. Oh, and tell Esme not to let Nessie hold Elisabeth tomorrow afternoon. It could result in accidental biting, and Nessie isn't used to a baby's size and taste. Might take a bit too much. I'm not sure, its hard to tell with Nessie around."

**Jasper POV **

Ten minutes later, Rose walked back into the room, pressed a large mug into my hand, and ordered, "Drink. Alice called and said you guys have to be in Alaska by 4 this afternoon."

I looked down to see a cup of blood in my hand. I was so focused on Ginny, I never even felt my throat burn at the smell of it.

I remembered Severus rising and Edward coming in the room. "She wouldn't want you to do that," Edward told him.

"It's my right! He left her to die!"

"As one father to another, I understand how you're feeling, but don't do this. He knew what Jasper was. He should, at the very least, have to die at a vampire's hands. Jasper owes a couple of his friends a favor, and trust me; they will deal with him perfectly. Peter would never let Jasper down. Right, Jasper?"

I only nodded.

When it was time to leave, Severus placed a kiss on her forehead and I scooped her up in my arms and carried her to the waiting helicopter that Emmett would be flying.

I felt it as the burn came to a stop. Rose was right; she was beautiful, but she always was. When her eyes opened and were that crimson red, the world seemed right again. Every vampire I have ever met was terrified of me and my scars. Ginny opened her eyes and looked at me without fear. I was surprised by the lust I felt coming from her.

"Jasper, are you okay?" were her first words.

"I'm fine; just a little confused. All others before you have been scared of me."

She smiled. "I always found scars a little sexy...Oh Merlin!" I felt disgust from her. "My brother felt me up!"

"You remember your human life?"

She smiled again and moved closer to me. "Of course! That's when I found you."

She then felt the burning in her throat. "Let's find you something to eat." I took her hand. "Are you ready? It might be natural, but it's sometimes hard to deal with your first time killing something," I informed her.

"I killed for the first time over ten years ago," she calmly replied.

A/N dieing to know what you think!


	32. Epilogue

**Gift Or Torture?**

**Chapter 33**

**Epilogue**

**Ginny's POV**

Two weeks later, I called Severus. I had been scared to call him before. It was odd that he was my father. A part of me was scared that he wouldn't like the changes in me.

"Hello," came his cranky voice. It made me smile.

"Hello, Dad."

"I was beginning to think you had forgotten all of your human memories," he scolded.

"No, they're pretty clear, I guess. I mean, I now see how dull a human's senses really are," I explained.

"Have you drank any humans yet?"

I laughed; he would never change and I didn't want him to. "No! Jasper's keeping a pretty close watch on me."

"You're lucky to have him. He loves you a great deal," he said.

"So, anything I should know about?" I asked. I had been waiting to find out if Leah became brave enough to tell him.

"I have a feeling you already know, or you wouldn't be asking," he retorted. "She's young enough to be my daughter."

"Not quite, and I really don't see a problem. Professor Lupin and Tonks had about the same age difference."

"She's a werewolf!" he spat.

"No, she's a Shapeshifter. She might not be a witch, but she's far better than a Muggle! I saw the way Leah looked at you. You deserve to be happy, Dad! Or, would you rather I call you Father? Or just Severus?"

"Whatever you think is best, Ginevra." He paused before returning to the previous subject. "She is your mortal enemy."

"Maybe. I mean, according to all those Muggle fairy tales, I should hate my stepmother!" I laughed. "But I think you two are well suited; you can understand each other's pain like no other."

"I don't know," he replied.

"Take some time and get to know her. Um, Dad, you know Jasper and I will get married once I can be around humans again, right?"

"Yes, Ginny, I know. Arthur should give you away." I wanted to cry! Before I was changed, we, Severus and I, agreed that no good would come of telling Mom and Dad, or the other family members.

"No getting upset," he whispered to me.

"But you should get to do that!" I exclaimed.

"There is one alternative," he offered. "Have a Muggle service and a wizard one. The Weasleys don't have to know about the Muggle one."

"You would be willing to do that?" I asked, surprised.

"For you, yes."

"Fine, but I want the Muggle one first. I know what it will mean to Jasper and the rest of his family."

"Ginevra, I will tell you this now; since long before I knew, I have been proud of you."

**Severus POV**

It's been two months since Ginevra was changed. She sent me a picture of herself. She was hungry at the time, so her eyes were black, like mine. Merlin, she was stunning to look at! I had just placed the photograph in a frame and set it down on the table when there was a knock on the door.

I opened it to see Lucius standing on the other side. "I need your help."

"With what?" I inquired.

"I think I tracked down the vampires that killed Draco!" Lucius said as he swept into my place.

Draco died two days after Ginny was changed.

"I'm sorry, Lucius. I can't do that; they did me a favor."

"A favor? A fucking favor? They drained your godson!" he swore at me.

"They killed the piece of shit that had my daughter raped, beaten, and left for dead," I calmly said back.

"Your daughter? You don't have a daughter!" he seethed.

"Lucius, you don't know everything about me, or Draco. Do you know why your son put the Imperius Curse on a homeless Muggle and had him rape my daughter? I'll tell you; it was, in his mind, payback because you were going to find out he slept with Ginny Weasley and that she got pregnant with his child. So he had her raped, beaten, and left for dead. He knew what he was dealing with, who he was messing with, and what the cost would be. You see, Ginny was engaged to a vampire."

"Severus, you're not making sense! What does you daughter have to do with the Weasley brat?"

"That brat is my daughter! I only found out after I killed Dumbledore! She was placed in the care of the Weasleys to be kept somewhat safe, no matter how the war ended."

I have never seen Lucius look dumbfounded! It took a moment for him to compose himself. "You said she was pregnant?" I only nodded. "My bloodline will continue!" he said, realizing what my words meant. "Where is this child?"

I smirked. "Here's where the story gets even more twisted; Ginny wasn't ready to be a parent, so she gave the baby up for adoption."

"I want this child!" he demanded.

"Lucius, she's not Pure blood," I reminded him.

"She, she's my grandchild! The heir to the Malfoy fortune."

**Eleven Years Later...**

"Gryffindor!" the Sorting Hat had announced loudly. The other students clapped and I stepped down towards the table filled with other Gryffindors. Grandfather Lucius was going to be disappointed; he so hoped I would be placed in Slytherin. I hoped he would still view me as a respectable Malfoy, not that I have ever used that name. I'm a Cullen; always have been, always will be, even if Grandfather says I can't escape my birthright. I see him for a week or so every three months, but at Ginny's request Granddad Severus and his wife Leah are always nearby. Lucius is okay with it and he actually understands the reasons. My birth father has actually been wiped off the Malfoy family tree!

As I take my seat, another student asks, "You must be a Muggle born, right?"

I shake my head. "No, I'm Pure blood." All my grandparents say it, and coming from two men who at different times were believed to be the Dark Lord's right hand, that's saying something!

"I never heard your name before. By the way, I'm Jennifer Jordan." She offered her hand.

"I was adopted. My family aren't wizards," I explained, shaking Jennifer's hand.

"How are Muggle families told their child is magical?" a boy asked.

"No clue," I shrugged.

"But you just said..."

"I never said they were Muggle! Besides, Mom and Dad knew I was a witch before I was even born." Really, it's like I have three sets of parents; Mom and Dad, a.k.a Esme and Carlisle, my birth Mum and Jasper, and Rosalie and Emmett. I can't really call Emmett a parent when I'm already more mature than him.

"But aren't there laws protecting the fact that there are wizards in the Muggle world?" Jennifer asked.

"Yeah, but there are stronger laws to keep a secret what my parents are. You see, they won't risk losing their wands; it's their life that's at risk. My family are vampires."

"Bollocks!"

"Elizabeth," came the voice of Vicky Weasley from down the table. "Dad said that your Mum and Dad, along with Aunt Ginny and Uncle Jasper, were going to come over for dinner. How's that going to work?"

I smiled. Vicky spent most of her life in France, so she hadn't been around much once she understood what my family was. "My family will sit at the table with them and talk while yours eats food."

"She claims her whole family are vampires!" the boy from earlier exclaimed. He tried to make it sound like I was lying. Alice had told me to cut him a little slack.

"Well, not her whole family, but what, 11 of them! And then there's the wolves, and of course all of us."

"You're the missing Weasley?" another student said.

"Weasley, as in Harry Potter's family?" Jennifer asked.

I just nodded. Harry Potter is my uncle, even if he doesn't know that it's truly by blood. Mother, Ginny, and Granddad agreed there was no point to telling the Weasleys the truth.

"Well then, who's on the other side of your wizarding family?" someone else asked. I was clearly the center of attention at this point.

Alice vowed this would be when the shit really hit the fan. "Malfoy."

As the table around me erupted in questions, I thought back to the going away party that took place for me two nights before. With all my family there, it was one of those perfect nights. Earlier in the day Mom, Dad, Ginny, and Alice took me shopping for my school things. Ginny and Alice had become friends, and Ginny understood why Alice couldn't tell the family what all had to happen to her. It took Jasper the longest to forgive Alice, but he admitted that while everyone might call his and Alice's abilities gifts, he wasn't so sure. They both agreed that it's a double-edged sword with no clear answer to the question of whether it was a gift or torture.

**A/N Wow its done! I hope you enjoyed it! If you have reviewed in the past, thank you so very much. I you have not review please do!**


	33. The Last Manipulation of Albus Dumbledor

**A/N many of you asked for this Severus Snape and Leah Clearwater's story. I am also posting it as its own story but thought I would post the first chapter here. This chapter starts about 3 years before Gift Or Torture**

**Chapter 1**

**The Last Manipulation of Albus Dumbledore**

**Severus' POV**

I stood at the entrance to the office of the Headmaster of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. I was just named the new Headmaster, replacing Albus Dumbledore, a man who I had great respect for, a man who was more like a father to me than my own father had ever been, and a man who I had killed only a few weeks ago.

I have been in this room thousands of times over the years, but never in all those times did I ever feel worse than now. I didn't belong here, I belonged in Azkaban. This place had always been Dumbledore's, and it always would be.

I could smell the sweets Albus enjoyed so. Nothing had been touched, and I am guessing Minerva MacGonagall couldn't deal with packing his things up. She didn't realize how little time she had to do so. When I was named Headmaster, the school closed off these rooms; the office as well as the private quarters behind, to all but me until I opened them and chose a new password.

I stood at that entrance for a long time, until my personal thoughts were interrupted by the voice of the man I killed.

"Severus, this is your place now. You must accept that," said Dumbledore's portrait.

It was only then I realized all the other portraits were empty. I moved into the room slowly.

"You must look past the reason that caused you to be appointed the new Headmaster. You must look ahead to what your job is as Headmaster."

"That being to allow the Carrows to punish as they see fit in order to enforce His line of thinking?" I coarsely asked.

"That being to protect the children as much as possible from the horrors they will fact this year," the painting replied.

I nodded, knowing what I could do was limited at best if I wasn't to blow my cover.

"Severus, you will find that the center drawer has a false bottom. There's something left for you there."

I was surprised, yet not surprised. I moved over to the desk and opened the drawer. I was shocked at how little of a difference there was because of this fake bottom, but with a quick wave of my wand, the sheet of wood covering the bottom lifted and revealed three small, almost flat vials. They were labelled One, Two, and Three, and they were Dumbledore's memories. This filled me with dread, but I took them and walked over to the Pensieve.

I removed the lid from the first, poured it in, and then entered the memory myself.

I was in the same office I left; however, I knew this was years earlier. Albus was sitting at his desk. There was a panicked knock on the door. When it opened, there stood the love of my life, Lily Evans! She was clearly upset.

Seeing her made me ache. I wished to a god I didn't think I believed in that I could reach out and hold her.

Albus' voice rang out, "Lily, what is wrong?"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come here."

"Lily, I told you I am a friend. What is wrong, child?"

"I'm sorry. Being in hiding like this, the people we see are limited. I had to talk to someone, but I don't think anyone will understand," she rambled. "You have always been the most understanding."

"Lily, I will not judge you."

"I don't know if you'll say that after hearing what's wrong," Lily cautioned.

Albus rose from his seat and took Lily by the hand, leading her to a chair. "Tell me," he encouraged.

"You know that things have been rocky for James and I of late?"

"Yes, I noticed."

Tears started to well up in her green eyes. "They have been really bad. We-" she stammered,"we haven't been together as a couple since long before Harry was born. First it was me expecting, then the stress of Voldemort looking for us and Harry."

"Lily, stress does affect couples," Albus consoled her.

"I'm five weeks pregnant! James and I haven't been together in months. I'm five weeks!" she sobbed.

"I mean no offense, but do you know who the father is? It's not Sirius, is it?"

"No, never! No, Severus Snape is the father." She sounded very conflicted.

She was carrying my child? My mind rushed back to a night years back:

**Flashback**

_It was a surprisingly calm night and I was sitting alone in my parents' home in Cokeworth. My mum and dad had passed away the winter of my seventh year. I was having a drink after returning from a Death Eaters meeting. The screams of someone being tortured had given me a headache. Suddenly, the peace of the evening was disrupted by thumping on the door. I wondered who would have the audacity to pound on my door at one in the morning! I ignored it, but the noise wouldn't go away. Finally, I rose and went to answer the door._

_On the other side was Lily Evans – rather, Potter. She looked beautiful. Her red hair hung around her shoulders, looking like flames. My heart ached at seeing her. "Severus Snape! How could you? He's my son! MY bloody son! I know you hate James, but MY SON! How could you?" she screamed._

_As much as I loved her, it was late and I was tired. "Would you shut up!" I grabbed her arm and pulled her into the house. "I have neighbours!" Only in the light inside the house did I see the tears that sat in her lovely green eyes._

_"After everything, I still stood up for you when they said you joined the Death Eaters!" she said._

_"I had no way of knowing the Dark Lord would think it was your son that daft woman was muttering about!" I shot back._

_"I don't care. A baby, Severus! They were right all along; you're only out for yourself!" She shook her head disapprovingly at me._

_"Who else do I have?" I asked in return. "There's no one."_

_"I didn't want to believe it when Dumbledore told me! I just kept thinking, 'No, I was his friend! He begged for my forgiveness once, but in the end I really am nothing but a Mudblood!'"_

_"Don't ever use that word!" I yelled and turned away. "You're everything to me!" I whispered, half hoping she heard, yet scared to death she had._

_"What- you, you said..."_

_"Of course I did! The whole reason your precious James ever bothered with me is because of the fact that we were friends. You standing up for me would have only made it worse." She was silent. "Yes, Lily, he stopped once you were clearly not going to forgive me."_

_"I never realized, but you saw it all. Why?"_

_I closed my eyes. "Because I was always watching, Lily. Because..."_

_"You loved me," she wrongly guessed._

_"Love, not that it matters now. Mrs. Potter, go home to your husband and son." Even I heard the hurt in my voice. I had wanted to sound cold._

_"Sev..."_

_"Go!" I ordered._

_She never listened; instead she came around and faced me. "I never realized. I'm sorry! Had I known..." She then pulled herself up and kissed me. I took hold of her as I had dreamed of doing a thousand times before and kissed her back. When I woke the next morning, she was gone without a word. I never saw her alive again._

"Lily, how? Are you sure?" the Headmaster asked.

"Yes, he is the only man other than James I have ever been with."

"Lily, I then must ask; are you a spy?"

"What? No, I – I went to see Severus when I found out he was the one who told Him about the prophecy. I was hurt and felt betrayed." She paused, "Did you know he loved - loves me?"

"I knew; deep down I knew. I have seen unrequited love once or twice." Albus took a second before asking, "What do you want to do, Lily?"

"I don't know. James is smart enough to know that the baby is not his."

"We could alter his memory."

"No. And it would only make our hiding that much harder, adding one more body to this hell we are living."

Albus finally moved to the seat behind his desk. "So you want to end the pregnancy?"

"I don't want to, but what choice do I have?" She started to cry.

Albus was quiet for a long time before he finally spoke, "What if I could find a place where the baby would be safe and if you wanted, maybe even a place where you might be able to see your child from time to time."

"How, how could you do that?" she asked.

"There is an old charm, which you're very good at if I remember, that couples used to use a long time back to hide the fact that they had been together before marriage. It worked very well. And I think I know a few people who might welcome a child. Give me a few days. At the next Order meeting, if I have found a family, I will let you know by offering you a candy. It will be a magical one if it's a magical family, Muggle if they are Muggle."

Lily nodded as the memory began to fade.

I was in shock! There was no other word for it. Before I reacted, I decided to view the other two memories. I once again opened the vial and entered the memory. This time, Lily was in a bed holding a bundle of blankets that I quickly realized was a baby.

"Lily, I'm sorry, but we have to return you to James and Harry soon," Albus said.

I walked over and looked at the face of mine and Lily's child. I didn't know what newborns looked like, but this child had her mother's red hair. I never felt prouder or more angry in my life! I had a child I never knew.

I heard Lily whisper as she hugged the baby, "I love you, my little baby girl."

My mind rushed to all the young girls I had taught in recent years, trying to figure out who didn't look like their parents, but like Lily or myself. No one girl jumped to mind. Maybe she went to another school or maybe she was a raised by a Muggle family who didn't allow her to go to Hogwarts, or maybe she was a Squib.

As this memory began to fade, Dumbledore was taking the baby from Lily, who was sobbing.

I was sure the final vial would tell me what happened to my daughter. In my rush to open it, I almost broke it.

This memory began late at night on a warm night, Dumbledore stood knocking at a door.

"Who's there?" asked a voice from the other side.

"The stork! Are the others inside asleep?"

The door was then opened by Arthur Weasley. "Albus," he greeted warmly.

Albus stepped into the Burrow.

Molly came running over. "Let me see the baby," she cooed, taking my daughter from Albus. " A boy?" she questioned.

Albus smiled. "A girl, Molly."

"And how is her mother?"

Albus frowned. "Heartbroken." He paused, "You two are sure about this? Your family is already quite large."

Arthur Weasley spoke, "There is always room for one more."

"Then as thanks, as long as I am Headmaster, your childrens' school fees will be covered."

"What? No, that's too much! You have given us a daughter!" Molly protested.

"You don't understand how this is helping the Order."

"We did want to ask one thing, Albus," Arthur said.

"Yes?"

"We, Molly and I, would like to have you perform a memory charm on us. We don't want to remember that she is not a child of our bodies. She must be equal to our boys in every way."

"Did Lily name her?" Molly asked.

"Officially, no, but she did tell me a couple of times that if she could have kept her, she would have named her Ginevra."

"We would like to keep that," Molly said as the memory again faded.

Ginevra Weasley was my daughter! As I stood there, I tried to process the fact I knew, but did not really _know_, my daughter.

"Severus, because of her family's ties, she is at great risk. You must protect her and this secret," Dumbledore's portrait requested.

I spent the following year watching Ginny Weasley. I admit, in the past she did remind me of her mother, but I always thought it was just the red hair. I now realize how wrong I was. Why had I never noticed how much of the male population she held captivated? It bothered me, but I was pleased that she didn't seem to be dating. I did my best to protect her from the other Death Eaters at the school.

I know I was too easy on her and her friends for breaking into my office and trying to steal the sword of Gryffindor.

When the end of the war came, Voldemort, and even Potter, believed I gave my life. Had Potter been paying attention to me as he claimed he had his first day in my class, he would know I knew how to stop death.

Thankfully, Lucius remembered where he had sent me to meet the Dark Lord. He sent Narcissa to find me while his legal fate was decided.

I continued to watch my daughter, mostly from afar. From the second I knew she was mine, I have loved her, but like her mother, she can never know of my feelings. Now that the war is over, the world is an open book for her. It is believed that she is a Pure blood witch whose family fought on the winning side of our war.

She can marry anyone she wants, except Harry Potter, her half brother. I heard they had dated when she was in fifth year. Others claimed she waited for him, but they have not gotten back together, thankfully.

Today, I am sitting in a pub in a dark corner when I see Ginny walk in and take a seat at a table not far from me. A couple of minutes later, I see my godson enter and join her. She seems happy to see him. They make a striking pair, and they would be a good match if Lucius could get past the Weasley name.

I can't help myself; I listened to their conversation.

"Draco, I have something to tell you," Ginny said. She now looked nervous, as I had see her look in my class many times over the years.

"What's that?" he replied coolly. I am still, after all these years, amazed at how well the Malfoys hide their feelings.

"I just found out yesterday that I'm pregnant," she stated. My daughter was going to have a child?

I couldn't see his face. He asked, "And who's the lucky father?"

She smiled a sweet smile that I had seen Lily smile many times. "You, of course!" she replied with a chuckle.

"Me? So let me guess, Ginny; you thought I would jump at the chance to marry you and we would live happily ever after." He paused for a second, "I couldn't marry you even if I wanted to. You're nothing but a pathetic blood traitor! Take some advice, because that's all you're going to get from me; get rid of this problem!" He then rose and walked out.

I watched her face crumple. I had seen the same look in Lily's eyes the day I hurt her. Then her tears started to fall, and I wanted to protect Ginny, but the most I could do was console her. I got up and waked over to her then. I handed her a handkerchief.

I took the seat Draco had vacated moments before. I didn't give her a second to hide her tears. I knew that growing up with six 'brothers', crying was something she viewed as a sign of weakness. "You made a mistake," I stated.

"Thanks for pointing that out," she snapped. She clearly had grown since sitting in my classes. Gone was the little girl who feared me. "I don't need your criticism. I got enough of that in school!"

"I didn't mean to offend you." I looked at her for a long moment before continuing, "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know; no one even knew we were seeing each other. I'm not ready to have a baby by myself!" she admitted to me. My own mind rushed to Lily and how she felt when she found out she was expecting Ginny.

"You still have time to decide what you want to do." As I spoke, I wondered what Lucius would do if he knew about this. She could be at risk. "Here are a few things to keep in mind; members of Draco's family have, in the past, tried to kill you simply for looking at things differently than they do. You now are expecting a Malfoy, who, by all rights, could lay claim to everything they have. As long as you are carrying that child, you both are at risk. Now that Draco knows, I'm relatively sure he won't want to tell Lucius, so you need to decide if you want to keep the baby or get rid of it. The sooner, the better!"

"I could never kill it!" she said, horrified. She was so clearly her mother's child.

"Then you're going to keep it?" I asked.

"I'm - I don't - I'm not ready to be a single parent!" she lamented.

"You could give it away," I offered. A part of me hoped she would keep the baby. Maybe I could help her somehow.

"Who would want a child whose father's whole family were Death Eaters?" she asked.

I smiled. The evil part of me was alive! "A Muggle family who has no idea of the past war. It's also the perfect revenge on him."

I ended up offering Ginny the chance to come and live with me in a city in Canada. I had for years had a backup plan no one knew about. I convinced her she could live in my apartment with me until after she had the baby and had recovered. I even had a cover story for her. She was going to take some University courses in human behaviour to better understand Muggles. I told her there were Ministry programs to pay for this. In truth, I would pay for them for her. She is my daughter, it was the least I could do. It would also give me the chance to get to know her better.


	34. And Then It Happened!

**Gift or Torture Part Two**

**Chapter Two**

**...And Then It Happened!**

**Leah's POV**

The best thing I ever did for myself was to leave Sam's pack and join Jacob. I needed to get away from Sam. He does love me, but it's nothing after imprinting. I now understand it, but it doesn't make it hurt any less. When you haven't imprinted, to know that the other person does love you only makes it hurt more. So the break from Sam and the pack, and the mental connection to my every thought, is good for me.

With Jacob as our leader, we stay with the Cullens. Do I like vampires? Hell no! They are leeches, but the Cullens aren't all bad. As people go, they're alright. Dr. Cullen knew how much I hated having them pay mine and Seth's way, so he made me an offer. He gave me a loan so I could get the education to become a nurse. That way, wherever they moved to, there would be work for me. It's good money, and I enjoy the work. And I _am_ paying him back.

Seth enjoys working with tools and is working construction. We are living in Canada, in a city called Edmonton, right now. But Seth, Jacob, Nessie, Bella, and Edward have returned to Forks and La Push for a visit. I am happy to see Mom and even some of my friends, but I want to return to Edmonton. I like my work in the Children's Hospital. We have been here for a while. Bella's father, Charlie, was hurt on the job and Bella wanted to return until he was better. Can't say I blame her, but it's time to return.

I am packing my stuff when there's a knock at my bedroom door. "What now?" I asked as I tossed my sweater on top of the pile in my suitcase.

"Lea Lea?" came Sam's voice.

I thought I had done amazingly well at avoiding him while we had been here. I let out a heavy sigh. "Sam?" I responded as I focused on the suitcase and closing it up.

"You're leaving again," he said, stating the obvious..

"Yup." I watched the zipper close like I had never seen a zipper before.

"You should stay," he says.

I don't reply; instead I grab my purse, pull out my plane ticket, and examine the font on the ticket.

"You can't like being there with them. Stay, stay with me," he pleads

"Why? To watch you be so happy with Emily? No, Sam. For the record, I like it there and I like my work. I needed to get away from this mudhole."

"I never wanted to hurt you."

He and I have been over this so many times, I knew it by heart. "But you did. And you want to continue to! You want me back in your pack so you can know I'm still hurting! It's great for your ego."

"Lea-" he yells back.

I turn to face him. "Admit it, Sam; you want me here. You want to see the pain in my eyes every day because it makes you feel important! Sorry, there may have been a time when I would have done anything for you, but that was a long time ago. I am doing what makes ME, LEAH, HAPPY!"

"By being a lap dog to a bunch of vampires?" He tried to push my buttons.

I feel my rage building, but instead of phasing I take a deep, calming breath. "I am a nurse, and I get to care for sick children."

"You are a Quileute! You should be caring for the children of your tribe!"

I looked at him and I can see the hurt on him. It feels good in a sick, selfish way. "Sam. I am leaving. Good-bye." I picked up my suitcase and pushed past him. "Sam, let go of whatever it is you feel for me, whether it's pity or love or duty. As long as one of us holds on to it, neither of us will ever be free of it." I then walked to the door, fighting the desire to look back. Out front, Jacob and Seth are standing in front of the rental vehicle. I tossed my suitcase into the truck and jumped in the back seat.

I fight my tears and look forward to returning to work. I can cry without guilt there. No one ever questions why you're crying when they know you have spent the day watching a child die, or having had a child beg, fight,, and cry over and against a medical treatment.

Once back in Edmonton, I made myself very busy at work taking extra shifts and trying to block out the pain. Sam doesn't seem to get that each time he reaches out to me it reopens the wounds. It tells me he still cares for me. It makes me wish and hope for something that can never be.

But I am in control of my life. I am the master of my faith. No one else can be that.

I had just pulled a double shift and stopped for some takeout on the way home. I just didn't feel like cooking. As I pulled up, I spotted Jacob's car. I admit I'm a bit surprised, and I expect to find Jacob and Seth gaming.

I walked into the house and I can hear the T.V. Before the door is even shut, Jacob is there taking the bags from me. "Chinese! How did you know?"

I slipped off my shoes and followed him to the kitchen table, muttering to myself "Hi, Leah. Haven't seen you much lately."

Jacob grabbed a couple of plates and forks and headed to the table.

I follow. "So how are things at the Cullens?" He spends all of his time there.

"Its weird. I called Sam the other day," he slips in.

"Why?" I asked.

Jacob looked uncomfortable for a second. "There have been some big changes with the family."

I was now used to Jacob calling them this. "Um, not sure where to start. There's a girl, a human, but she's a witch. A real, magical witch! It would seem that Jasper has imprinted on her, I guess you could say."

I felt my eyebrows rise. "Imprinted?" I questioned. "Vampires don't imprint."

"I know, but here's the thing; the other day she cut her hand pretty bad. I found him with her at the sink and he was stopping the blood flow! His eyes never even changed color. And, the first time I met her, he had bruised her arms from grabbing her too tightly. It was an accident, and for me it was like I knew, deep down, he had never wanted or intended to hurt her. Rose was ready to kill him, but it was nothing to me."

"Odd," I said as I started to fill my plate. "Where's Seth?" I asked.

"He said he had a date. There's more."

I took some sweet and sour pork. "Like what?"

"She, Ginny, had a baby. Carlisle and Esme adopted the baby girl, Elizabeth."

"What?" I exclaimed.

"I guess Ginny wasn't ready to be a mother yet. Oh, and Jasper's friends Peter and Charlotte are in town."

"Does this Ginny know what they are?" I asked.

"Yup. She's actually pretty cool. I like her."

"Does she want to be turned like Bella did?"

"Don't think so. I guess as a witch there are things she can do to live longer. Anyway, being that Seth is of age here, he and I were planning to go out clubbing tomorrow night. Ginny's going to come, and you should too. You work too much."

"Is that an order?" I asked.

"No, it's a request, from a friend." He smiled his infectious smile.

"Well, I don't have to work. I guess it might be fun. Sure, why not?"

"You never know, maybe you'll find your imprint," he said around a mouthful of food.

I laughed. "Right. With my luck, when I meet my imprint he'll be married with about six kids, one of which will be in the hospital, and he will be totally in love with his wife."

I knew Jacob was spending the night, which was fine.

I found I was looking forward to going out. I even took some extra care to look hot. I am the only female shapeshifter, that we know of, and I may never imprint. I go back and forth on the issue if dating. I never want to hurt someone the way I have been hurt. But should I avoid finding someone because of something that might happen? I just don't know. I wish there was more information on imprinting. but I'm young enough. I can still have some fun.

We take my car; Jake is driving. We burn off alcohol fast enough that drinking and driving is never an issue. We drive over to pick up this Ginny. I'm pleased to see she isn't living with the Cullens, yet.

Jake sent her a text message to let her know we were there. The young lady that came out of the building was extremely pretty. I honestly was surprised how pretty; she could have passed for one of them, a vampire, on her own. She was wearing a tight pair of jeans, ballet flats, and a trendy top.

Jake opened the door and got out to wave her over to the car.

She opened the door to the backseat. Once in, Jake introduces us to her. "Ginny, this is Leah and Seth Clearwater."

"Hello, nice to meet you," she replied with a British accent.

Upon hearing that, I half expected Seth to claim he imprinted on her. He's a little horndog.!"Nice to meet you, too." I smiled. "So you're the new leech lover in Jacob's life?"

"I guess," she smiled in return. "Trust me, there are worse things in this world to love. You're a wolf like Jacob?"

I nodded. "Yes. However, I am the only female wolf, so it can be rather hard being the only girl."

She smiled again, "I can relate; I have six brothers."

"Oh, yes you can then."

Over the evening, Ginny and I found we got along really well. I like her, even if she did like the vampires. She seems to get me. I think my link with the boys and her being the only girl in her family helped. She is funny, and very nice, and she really fit in with us all. It wasn't at all uncomfortable or even stiff. I got the feeling she and I could be friends. And I must admit, even if only to myself, if she was going to fall for a leech, Jasper is the one I would pick. Maybe that's because of my attraction to powerful men. He might not be the strongest or the fastest of the Cullens, but he is the best in a fight. I wouldn't want to have the job of ripping him apart alone.

Before I had a chance to get to know more about Ginny, it happened. I was on duty at the hospital when I received a phone call. "Leah, this is Alice. I am asking you to do me a favour, please." Alice's voice was pleading.

"What's that?" I asked. I was baffled as to why she was calling me.

"I can't tell for sure, but I am hoping your presence will ensure Jasper remains in control."

I didn't understand this. I thought Jasper and Alice were true mates. Maybe they were and maybe she saw him imprinting on Ginny and left to avoid the pain I had felt. "Control? What's happening?" I asked.

"It's Ginny. She was raped and left for dead. He will arrive at the hospital in a few minutes. Please just go down there and be there to remind him you're watching. And don't let him leave! Carlisle will be with him, but if he gets called away I can't see what Jasper will do because if he does anything it will be a spilt second decision. The rest of the family will come once it's dark out."

I didn't know what to say. I was shocked she asked this of me. "Um, sure."

"Thanks! I owe you." The phone then went dead.

I looked at the charge nurse. "There's a family emergency. I'm going down the the ER."

There must have been shock written all over my face because she just nodded and said, "Go! Just let us know as soon as you know if you're going to be in tomorrow."

When I got down to the ER, I was pointed to the area where Dr. Cullen was. He was speaking with Jasper. I now knew why Alice was so worried. Jasper always looked as if he was at least standing at ease, but he looked as if he was at full attention and ready to go into battle at any second. It scared me. Carlisle and Jasper are speaking too fast and quiet for me to hear what is being said, but I then see Jasper pull out his phone. Carlisle then sees me. He makes eye contact and heads towards me.

"Leah?"

"Alice called. She asked me to stand guard until the others can arrive."

"Over Jasper?" he questions.

"She can't tell what he will do. How bad is Ginny?"

"She's been raped and beaten, but she was awake when they brought her in. She's very upset and has twenty-seven broken bones," he explained to me.

"And Jasper?" I asked.

"Leah, you haven't seen them together," he starts, "It's like imprinting, but there's more; she dilutes others' feelings for him"

"You're worried about him!"

"This could break him in the worst way. Ginny is willing to see me. Please do as Alice asked."

I nodded. I might not like that Carlisle is a vampire, but he has always treated us with respect. I watched Jasper and realized he's broadcasting his feelings outward. I carefully and submissively approach him so he is aware that I am not a threat, at least not now.

A couple of feet from him, I finally say quietly, "You're broadcasting! If possible, would you try to stop? This isn't the best place to intensify those types of feelings."

He nods, then looks down at his phone, pushes a button, and then places the phone to his ear. "Rose."

"What happened?" I hear Rose's voice; she sounds very worried.

"Ginny, she was-" I watch as he struggles to remain the soldier, "was raped and beaten." His voice actually cracks. "It's bad."

I can hear a gasp on the line and then Edward's voice, "We will be there once it's dark. Jacob wants to come too," he warns.

"Leah is already here."

"Carlisle?" Edward questions.

"I guess I don't know," Jasper says. My heart aches for him. I can tell how much he is fighting to remain steady, to be a man, to not seem weak. As he put his phone away, I wanted to do something. Had he been a human I would have offered to get him a coffee or something.

The odd thing was I wasn't worried about him slipping and going after a human. And we are in an ER where there is blood everywhere! I wondered if this is what Jake meant about sensing the imprint thing. "Why don't we step outside for a few minutes?" I suggested..I saw no reason to tempt fate. A break from the smell of blood was all I could offer.

"No. I won't leave her." He paused for a second. "Severus could be arriving any second."

I must have given him a questioning look.

"Her fa- friend. He is a family friend of hers; she was living with him."

"Nurse, it's my husband. He's still in a great deal of pain," an old woman said to me, reminding me I was standing in the ER in my scrubs with my ID card on.

"I'm not a nurse here in the ER, but I will find someone to help you," I gently said. "Your husband's name?"

"Brad Henderson."

For the most part I have very little to do with the Cullens, other than Carlisle, and even that is just because of work. But I am loyal to Jacob and my pack. I am still wondering about the events that have led to this. When I returned to Jasper, he was talking with a tall man who was dressed all in black. All my attention stayed on Jasper.

I watched him so closely. I was fearful that he would crack and go after a human, but at the same time, deep down, something told me he wouldn't, not now at least.

I felt Jacob's hand on my shoulder. "Relax a bit," he whispered to me.

I shook my head and kept my eyes on Jasper.

"He's not going to do anything. His loyalty to Ginny is stronger than his lust for blood. Did Carlisle call you down here?"

"No, Alice phoned," I said.

My eyes are locked on Jasper's face. I saw in my peripheral vision Severus step away from Jasper.

"Alice called you?" I could tell he was as surprised as I was.

"Yes. She sounded very worried. I am not to let him leave here," I explain.

"She can't see what he might do," he guesses. "The family should be here soon."

"I got the feeling that once they are here, I can leave." I am still only watching Jasper.

The other man had walked over to Jasper, blocking my view, so I moved to get a clear view of Jasper's face. In doing so I saw Severus' face. He was pale, almost sallow looking. Then it happened; my eyes met his! In that second, everything else stopped mattering. All that mattered was him! I felt my every connection in my life slipping from me. They no longer mattered to me. It was like how the things that were your whole world as a child no longer mattered as an adult.

I wanted, needed, to be with him. I had imprinted!

"Leah, you must stand back. I know, but he is nowhere near a normal human. And Ginny? No one matters more to him in this world. Now is not the time," Edward whispered to me. I never even noticed him, or Bella, or Rosalie, or the others, arrive. Then Jacob is at my side. "She has imprinted on Severus." Edward explains to Jake.

"Wow, what a shitty time."

"He is Ginny's father," Edward explains.

I am now wanting to go and offer him comfort.

"Leah, I have heard Ginny's mind. He has had to spend years not letting anyone close to him. It's going to take time, but for how he is feeling right now, he will lash out at anyone," Edward says.

I am now staring at this man Severus... I don't even know his last name! He looks ready to kill. Then Jasper shocks me back to my senses.

"Leah, go in and let Carlisle and Ginny know Severus is here."

I nodded and headed toward Ginny's caseroom. I opened the door slowly, saw Ginny, and am shocked! She is covered in bandages. I have seen a lot as a nurse, but nothing like this. "Dr. Cullen," my voice cracked at the shock of what I have seen, "Severus is here. I think he needs to see Ginny."

"Ginny?" he softly asked her. She made eye contact with him. "Send him in," he said to me.

As I approached Severus, I realized I could touch him without it seeming out of place. I slowly touched his arm, and softly said, "Ginny wants to see you."

He looked at my hand on his arm, then into my eyes. He nodded and made his way to the door of her room.

I looked back at the others. Rosalie looked like she was going to be sick, Jasper looked like he was going to shatter, Bella was on the phone, I'm guessing with Esme, Edward was clearly reading all of us, and Jacob was watching me like a hawk.

I knew I couldn't leave! My imprint's daughter was attacked! I don't think he knows the Cullens that much at all, but I know that their love of Ginny will draw everyone together.


	35. Moving

**A/N Sorry it's been so long, my beta has been really busy. I have the next couple chapters ready to go as soon as they are beta'd. Any way we are continuing with the events of the last few chapters of Gift or Torture, However this is all NEW stuff.**

**Chapter 3**

**Moving**

**Severus' POV**

I now stand in Ginny's room. The vampire doctor is with her. I was not happy with her getting close to vampires, but I also knew that no normal vampire could ever be a Muggle doctor. I also had the chance recently to get to know this man's wife. Ginny had brought Esme and Elizabeth to come and stay at my apartment when some normal vampires had come to see the vampire family.

While Esme Cullen was in my home, I watched her. I must say she is a natural mother. Ginny had made comments about Esme giving Molly Weasley a run for her money. I will not say Esme is no threat, but compared to Jasper Hale, she is of little concern.

When I first realized that Ginny had feelings towards Mr. Hale, I was concerned greatly. No, I was scared to death for her. But then I saw that he does love her. I can't say I was happy Ginny wanted to be with a vampire instead of a wizard, and just to drive that fact home, Draco had shown up yesterday.

Draco told me he wants to be with her and that he finally realized he loves her. As much as I want her with someone who is not a vampire, I know she is hopelessly in love with Jasper. Still, I felt that it was her right to tell my godson Draco to go to hell.

Looking at her now, she is not a pretty sight. Bloody bandages cover most of what I can see and anything not covered is already black and blue.

Dr. Cullen got up from the chair beside her and turned to face me. He didn't have to move much to come closer to me in the small, tight room. "Did Jasper fill you in on her condition?"

I nodded. I have watched and even taken part in torturing people, but as Cullen moved out of the way and I got a full view of Ginny, I was physically ill.

I felt Cullen place a hand on my shoulder. "The whole family is here for her. I'll wait outside."

I looked at him. Any other time and I would have been trying to figure him out. "Can I see the official medical report?"

"I can tell you everything on it. They are waiting to do surgery until the police finish checking the photos they took. But she is in no pain. She was given a lot of pain killers once the police finished talking to her."

I again nodded. "I'll be out to talk to you in a bit." I paused, "Does she know what's happening around her?"

"Yes, but she might not remember it later," he stated, then left the room.

I stood there looking at her. I didn't know what to do or say. Being cold and hurtful had always been my way of keeping everyone out. Finally, I moved toward the chair that sat next to her bed. "Ginevra, I'm here." I was scared to touch her as I didn't want to cause her pain.

She looked over at me, not moving her broken body. "Thank you."

I thought of contacting Molly. Ginevra might want the woman she though was her mother at a time like this, but at the same time I didn't think I could deal with that whole clan. Besides, Molly had been there for every illness up til now, and this was my time with my daughter.

I sat there for hours with Ginny. I overheard the nurses talk about what was to come for her with the police and medically. I waited til she fell asleep and then entered her mind using Legillimency on her. I viewed her whole rape and beating, every second of it. It was the sickest thing I have ever seen. I was shocked when, as I was about to remove myself from her mind, I saw Draco come into view. "That's payback, bitch. And before your brat can ever try to lay claim to my money, she will be taken care of too," he growled at her.

I then knew this was my fault! I had told Draco where she was and that if he waited, he could see her. I never thought Draco would do something like this.

I knew I was close to breaking down, but I couldn't do that! I needed to distract myself. I didn't like a few of the things I heard the nurses say that Ginny was going to have to face. I knew I could heal her much faster, but to do so I would need help from those vampires.

I headed out to speak with the leader..

**Leah's POV**

The door to her room opened and Severus stepped out. He looked like he had aged ten years in the few hours since I imprinted on him. My eyes were on him,who was now talking with Carlisle, but I noticed Bella close to Jasper, almost hovering, and Edward and Rose together. I moved closer to Jasper and Bella.

"She needs to get out of here. This wasn't a random act," Severus explained to Carlisle. "This was revenge. Magic was involved also, and prison will do nothing for those responsible."

"She has way too many injuries to be released," Carlisle explained.

"Having to go over this again and again with the police isn't going to help her state of mind," Severus stressed to Carlisle.

"You saw how she looks! We're looking at a month in hospital at the least," the doctor surmised.

Severus shook his head. "I can heal most of the damage myself in a day or two at most with no need for knives or thread." He was clearly upset at the idea.

"No, I will not allow her to be used as a guinea pig!" Jasper declared

"A guinea pig? I don't see it that way! Six weeks with her jaw wired shut, or a simple potion and, at most, a night of discomfort? Just for her jaw!" Severus spat at Jasper.

Carlisle placed a hand on Jasper, but spoke to Severus, "Forgive me, but I thought you were a Potions professor."

"I was for seventeen years, but I'm also a licensed healer," Severus explained.

I was impressed. A professor and a healer!

"Jasper, her whole life she has been healed like this. We need to respect it," Carlisle said. He looked at Severus. "I have a surprising amount of medical equipment at the house. Can we compromise? You can heal her and I will observe and check the effects. We can do it all at the house."

Way to go Carlisle, allowing Severus to do as he needed!

Severus nodded.

"Then I'll start the paperwork on getting her out of here. She'll still be here for a couple of days."

Severus shook his head. "I can make files on computers disappear and make people forget. Give me one hour, then have all those people who worked on her together. I only need about ten seconds with them. I'll Apparate her to your home."

"Driving would be better," Carlisle said.

"Too far and too much jarring on her. Have everything ready." He then took off down the hall.

Carlisle then spoke to Jasper. "Jasper, she's not ready to see you yet, but someone should sit with her. Where's Rose?" His phone rang. "It's Alice."

"Carlisle, they're going after the wrong person. Well, not really. Yes, he did it to her, but he wasn't in control of himself," Alice said, panicked.

"Rose and Edward?"

"Yes. Like Severus said, this was magic, and revenge. Don't give Jas the phone!"

"You bitch!" Jasper seethed; he instantly reminded me of the fact I don't want to piss this vampire off.

"Jasper, calm down! Remember, Ginny is right in that room! She needs you now," Carlisle reminded him. "Did you know?" he asked Alice.

"Carlisle, the guy they're about to kill did rape her, but he's not to blame." The phone then went dead.

Bella's hand was on Jasper's back. "I'll go talk to her. Maybe I can convince her to see you."

Carlisle came up to me. "Leah, might I ask a favour?" I always felt that he treated us with great respect.

I nodded.

"Severus wants to use magic to heal Ginny." I nodded again. "I'm not sure of what we might be facing with that. With what Ginny has been through, she might need a woman to aid her with some things. I don't know if there will be blood, so I'm not sure if Esme, Rose, or Bella would be of any use. Could you join us at the house to help out?"

I looked around. To this day, I have never entered their house. I guess it's a trust issue. I must have taken too long to reply.

"All this time and you still don't feel you can trust us?" He actually looked hurt.

"I won't lie; some part of me can't get past my instinct to not trust you."

"Even if Jacob and Seth can?" He gave me a small smile.

"I know they feel they can, but..."

"It's so deep for you. It could be because of the pain we caused in your life." That could be it, but now having imprinted, that pain doesn't matter to me. "Or it could be on some level a maternal instinct. Women, and mothers in particular, are far more protective," he offered another reason.

This one made much more sense, even to me. "I'll come."

I followed Jake on his bike out to the Cullens home. The house was, to me at least, even nicer than the house near home. Once we arrived, Jake and I worked with Emmett and Esme to set up a room for Ginny. I couldn't understand why a bunch of vampires had so much hospital equipment on hand.

Once the room was set to my orders, Esme called Carlisle, then she and Emmett left with Nessie and Elizabeth. Within a minute, Severus, literally popped into the front hall! He is a tall man, but I knew I could have carried her far easier.

"Allow me to take her," I offered.

"I'm just fine. Where is the room?" he coldly asked. Jake made eye contact with me and gave a comforting nod.

"This way." I led them down the hall.

Once in the room, he laid her on the bed.

"I will put her in a fresh hospital gown," I said, seeing that there were a couple of spots of blood on the one she was wearing.

"I'm going to need a few things." he said.

"I will get them," Jake offered.

"No, I can do it faster with Apparating." He made deliberate eye contact with me. "You're a nurse?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Keep her comfortable until I or Dr. Cullen return."

"Of course."

Once Severus left, I changed Ginny's gown and gave it to Jake to burn.

When Severus returned, I was shocked at the amount of stuff he had with him. Edward told Severus to picture how he needed it set up and that it would be taken care of. Severus looked beyond sceptical. I admit it made me smirk.

Both Carlisle and I watched with a mixture of interest and scepticism as Severus gave Ginny the first potion. But hours later, after seeing the effect it had, we couldn't argue with his method. Once the bleeding was stopped, the others returned.

I was sitting and watching Severus as he worked on a potion when Jake and Edward came up to me.

"Leah, we need to talk," Jacob said to me.

I nodded and followed the two of them to another room. We are now in a games room.

"Are you ok?" Jake asks.

"I'm fine," I lie. I'm not really sure how I feel right now. Numb, maybe?

Edward smiled at me. "It's a lot for you."

I nodded again. Telling someone that they are your imprint is never easy. It's always hard for them to believe and harder to understand..

"He is a wizard, so there is a good chance he knows about imprinting," Edward offered, "But as you have seen, he is extremely focused on healing Ginny. She is all he feels he has to live for."

I did a double take and stared at Edward. So much didn't make sense to me.

"Leah, I know you want me to tell you everything I know, but you have to understand, I only know what a person is thinking about when I am right there. Besides, you should learn about all of this from him. I do know, for what Ginny and Jasper have said, that he is a very private person." Edward paused. "I will let you and Jacob talk."

Once Edward left, Jake stared at me for a long time. As he stared, I realized something. "Jake, there is a connection."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I think there's a connection. Sam and me, you and Bella, me and Ginny. I mean, I liked Ginny from the second I saw her. I think maybe we form bonds to people near to our imprints."

Like every guy, he looks like he has no idea of what I'm talking about. "Sam was in love, or maybe only thought he loved me; you and Bella, and I... I took a liking to Ginny almost instantly! I felt like I could be super close to her."

There's a stupid look on his face and he is clearly in that guy mind-set of picturing girl on girl action. I want to smack him. Really?! This is my alpha wolf? I need more wolf, less dog! "Jacob! This is important!"

"I don't know what to say, Leah."

I realized that I was looking to someone with about as much knowledge on the matter as myself.

"Leah, does it really matter? Look you imprinted. I know it's a shitty time, but..."

As Jacob spoke, my mind took off on its own. Maybe the reason there were no other female shapeshifters was because imprinting doesn't work the same way for women. Women like to be pursued. Men like to be the pursuer, not the one being chased. How was this EVER going to work for me?

How do I earn the heart of Severus? I don't want to come across as pushy or needy. I can tell that is not what will attract him.

"LEAH!" Jacob's voice brought me out of my own thoughts.

I gave my head a shake.

"Leah, you're tired. You need some sleep," Jacob stated.

I know he's right, but I'm not sure how well I will sleep. "You're right, I'll head home," I said as I turned to find my purse and keys.

"You're not driving, you're too tired," he ordered. "Esme said to tell you to sleep here," he said carefully.

"No, I – I need a change of clothing. Will you drive me?" I asked hopefully.

There is then a knock on the doorway, as this room doesn't have a door. We both look over to see Esme standing there with the baby in her arms. God, does she ever look motherly!

"Leah, please," she gently said, "You know you're just going to be back here as soon as you wake up. You can use Alice's room, it shouldn't smell too much."

"I still need a change of clothing. I should-."

"Jacob can loan you a shirt to sleep in and I will wash your scrubs."

I see what Jacob meant about this woman! Hard to be rude to someone who is trying so hard to be welcoming and nice to you.

"I'm sure Seth could bring you some stuff for a few days," she continued.

"Give up now," Jake muttered some advice to me. "It's easier."

I know it's my own stubbornness that is wanting to not see reason.

"I'm guessing your mind is racing. You will find that holding a baby is very relaxing. It can clear the mind to help you sleep.

My lord, did this vampire miss the memo about me being her mortal enemy? She's offering me her child! Not that I would hurt Elizabeth, ever!

I watched with complete amazement and wonderment as Esme placed Elizabeth in my arms. The trust this woman, yes I just called one of them a woman, just put in me is mind-blowing.

I know because of my link to Jake that these vampires are like a family. I can imagine what this perfect little baby means to her.

I found myself getting lost in looking at this baby. The perfect little fingers, tipped with perfectly shaped nails, the long, light eyelashes that rest almost on her cheeks, the little peaks and valley of her upper lip.

I settled into Alice's room where there was a nice big bed. I have to wonder what someone who never sleeps would need with a bed? But the baby still holds all of my attention.

As I held her, I wondered if Severus wants any more children. Then I remembered I haven't had my period since I phased for the first time. Could I give him one?

**A/N Please leave a review!**


	36. Turning Over a New Leaf

**Gift or Torture Part Two **

**Chapter four**

**Turning Over a New Leaf**

**Jacob's POV**

I watched Leah and I could tell she was having a hard time with this. It didn't make sense to me; since she imprinted, she should be happy. I found myself wanting to have the both of us phase so I could fully understand what she's thinking. I was tempted to do something that might not respect her privacy. _Hell, I'll do it anyway._

"Edward, can we talk alone?" I asked carefully so that Nessie and Bella didn't follow us.

"I understand, but why are you asking me?" he offers, hearing my thoughts.

"Are you going to help me out here?" I asked.

"Jacob, she is scared of many things here. Unlike the rest of the pack, she's the only female. There isn't a lot of information about how imprinting works for her. Sam had the stories of the other wolves, and you and the others knew how it worked for him. Men and women are different when it comes to falling in love. Leah knows that," he replied.

"Do you really think that Severus will turn her away?" I wondered.

Edward looked at me. "He is very hard to read. However, unlike the women of your tribe, he might not be as understanding. He could choose to walk away."

"That would kill Leah."

Edward nodded. "It would, and she knows that too."

"Maybe I should talk with Sam," I thought out loud. "Maybe more Quileutes have phased and there's another female and more information."

"Jacob, that act alone would be an even bigger breach of her trust. Sam is her ex; she doesn't want him to know that she's hurting." I know Eddie is right, but I want and need to help her in some way. "Besides, if another girl phased, don't you think Sam would have contacted Leah himself? She would be the best to help another girl with this."

"Maybe you should ask your father to see how many of the past spirit warriors had daughters at the right stage in life to transform. It is possible that she's only the first because she is the only one who was at the right time."

"Thanks, Edward." He smiled and nodded as I pulled out my cell and dialled my dad.

"Hello, Jake. What's up?"

"Dad, are you alone?" I knew there was a chance Sam was there.

"Yup, just me," he replied.

"Good, I need a favor and I don't want Sam to know about this."

"You want me to keep something from the tribe's Alpha wolf?"

he teased me.

"Yes. Dad, I need you to find out if any other previous spirit warriors had teenage daughters that phased when vampires came around."

"Why? What's up?"

"Not a word to Sam, Sue, or Charlie," I warned.

"Of course," Dad vowed.

"Leah has imprinted, and instead of being happy she is very stressed out about this."

"That's not good."

"I know. Leah thinks there's something wrong with her because she's the only female wolf. Edward thought maybe there was another reason she is the only one."

"Kay Jake, I'll look into it for you," Dad promised.

**Leah's POV**

After I woke up, I watched Severus while I aided him and Carlisle in Ginny's treatment. Rosalie was also playing nurse to Ginny. I found out from Jake that Rosalie was raped and left for dead before she was changed. I guess she feels she's the only one who can understand how Ginny is feeling.

As I watched Severus, I noticed how this was killing him. Seeing his daughter like this was hell for him! I decided not to tell him about my imprinting until Ginny is feeling better. I will allow him to focus on her right now. He clearly feels he owes her this for some reason.

I had so many questions I wanted to ask, but I could tell he's a very private person. He would tell me when he's ready, and pushing him before that time won't help me.

What really is mind blowing to me is that all of the Cullens are being so understanding of what I'm going through and what Severus is going through!

If this thing between Jasper and Ginny is like imprinting, I can understand his supportive ways. The rest of them do love her, and each of them is affected in their own way. Even Nessie and Jake; not that Nessie knows exactly what happened to Ginny, just that someone hurt her.

Severus has thrown himself into mixing and brewing stuff to heal Ginny. I must admit that it's amazing how this magic stuff works. Her jaw alone was totally fixed overnight, just like how we heal. What amazed me was most of the potions he made he seemed to know how to make by heart. He's so exact in his methods, I don't think the bloodsuckers could come close to his precision. I have tried to help him, but I seemed just to be in his way.

Instead I helped Carlisle in the lab or helped with Ginny's care.

I understood that Ginny is a witch and Severus is a wizard and he knows the Cullens are vampires, but I'm not sure if he knows what Jacob and I are.

Esme invited me to cook for the food eaters, and while I know this was just more of her trying to make me more comfortable, it helped me a bit by giving me something to do. I hated to admit it, but the kitchen here rocks and I'm almost jealous of it! I was making pasta for everyone when Esme stepped into the kitchen. Again, she was holding Elizabeth.

"I hope you don't mind; I need to heat a bottle for her."

Right, like I'm going to refuse a newborn baby her milk just because her mother is a vampire. "No, that's fine."

As Esme heated the bottle, she watched me. "I wanted to mention to you that Ginny told me before I first met Severus that in his past he had a close call with a Child of the Moon, so when you tell him about yourself you might not want to use the term 'werewolf.'"

"Hm, thanks."

She looked at me like there's more she wanted to say.

I wanted to ignore her, so I pretended to be focused on the sauce I was making. I watched her out of the corner of my eye, though, as she slipped the heated bottle into a quilted wrap.

"So it doesn't cool too fast," she explained when she saw my confused expression.

I nodded.

"Leah, I just wanted to say that even though you don't care for us, as part of Jacob's pack I do feel you are a member of this family. I'm sorry that our arrival in Forks has changed you life's path."

Once more I nodded, not knowing what to say.

She smiled and left the room.

Why did she have to be so sweet? It's hard to keep up the hate when she's trying so hard to be nice.

Jake entered a second later and mouthed the words, 'I know.'

I started to laugh. At least I know I'm not the only one.

"That smells good," Jake stated. "Nessie actually said she would try some, which will make Carlisle happy since hes forever trying to get her to eat human food, vegetables particularly. He worries about her vitamin intake."

"That's good, I guess," I shrugged.

"Seth said he would arrive after work."

After a few days' time, Ginny's physical injuries were healed, but she was still ill. When looking at some blood work Carlisle took, we found out she had flesh-eating disease. We thought it was inside her uterus. There's no cure for it; only treatment. We're going to open her up to see. Unfortunately, she most likely would have to lose her uterus.

I watched the Cullens all get set up in record time for Carlisle and myself to operate. Severus remained and assisted. Jasper was demanding to stay, claiming her blood didn't affect him before and that it wouldn't now.

Severus wasn't arguing this point and that made me mad. How could he not see the danger he was putting her at? How could I protect him and be what he needed when he was the one setting himself up for hurt?

Jake offered to stay with Elizabeth so the others could hunt. When they returned, any blood leakage from Ginny's incision wouldn't push anyone over the edge or cause them any discomfort. I also thought part of him is also staying in case I phased in hopes of controlling me should the need arise.

Within ten minutes we were operating on Ginny. I knew Carlisle was fine, but I wasn't so sure of Jasper. I watched for any sign that he was slipping.

Almost as soon as she was opened up, Carlisle said, "I'm closing her up; there's too much damage done."

My eyes shot to Carlisle. "I thought you could cut away the affected area," I said.

He made eye contact with me and shook his head. He didn't need to say it; Ginny was dying!

I looked at Severus, but the surgical mask hid his face. His eyes gave nothing away as to how he was feeling; this amazed me. I then looked at Jasper, who didn't need a mask. He was crumpling, and his pain was already affecting me. If this was how he felt, I couldn't imagine a greater pain.

I felt my own body shake with held back sobs and my tears burned my eyes. Carlisle gently nudged me and I again made eye contact with him through my tears. The look he gave me could be best described as comforting. I tried to pull myself together.

Once she was sewn back together, Carlisle asked me to watch over her while he and Jasper cleaned up so the others could return. Also, it gave Severus a few minutes to collect himself.

A few minutes later, I went to find Carlisle as Ginny was waking and in pain. I needed to know what to give her and how much.

Severus was standing in the doorway. "Change her," he said.

What? He wants her changed? I felt my rage building, my whole body started shaking. I couldn't stay there, so I spun around and bolted for the closest door, phasing as I left the house!

_How can I accept this? How can he ask them to turn his daughter? _I was running. I didn't know where I was headed for; all I knew was I just had to be away from that house. I couldn't stand by and allow them to change her.

_Leah, Leah, you need to calm down!_ Jake's thoughts entered my mind. He must have seen me phase.

I looked back and saw him come up on my right. I snapped at him. _Leave me alone!_

_What happened?_ he asked.

_He wants them to change her! She's dying and he wants them to change her!_ I raged.

_Yes Leah, but __your_ _imprint wants __this. You have to accept it, _Jake tried to reason with me.

_How can I possibly accept __this?_

_Would you stop? Let's just stop and talk about this._

_There is no talking! I'm far too mad, _I explained.

He growls at me. _Just stop then!_

I couldn't refuse my Alpha, so I slowed down to a stop and turned to face him.

_I didn't order you; that was a request. Leah, I know you are upset..._

_I can't accept this, _I interjected.

_Yes Leah, you can. Your imprint needs this, and you know you have to accept this just like I had to accept Bella being turned. He needs her. Look, Edward told me she is Severus' reason for living._

_My duty as a spirit warrior is to protect humans from them! _I screamed in my mind.

_Your duty is to protect humans from being killed by them, _Jacob pushed. _She is not being killed!_

_You don't see it right... you may as well be one of them! _I lashed out at him.

Jake went totally blank and he turned and walked away from me. I didn't even hear his thoughts and right then I didn't really care.

I didn't even have words for what I was thinking right then.


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N I am so sorry I just realized I missed posting part of this chapter. You might want to remind yourself of what happened in the last chapter. Again I am deeply sorry.**

**Chapter 5**

**Leah's POV**

Some time later, I hear Seth. _Leah? Leah, where are you?_

I think about running.

_Leah! Don't! _he pleads with me. He finally comes into my view. _Glad I found you. I wasn't looking forward to going back in the house._

_You can't handle the idea of them changing someone either! See? It's not just me. _

_Actually, it's Jasper. He's really broadcasting the pain he's in seeing Ginny in pain. Look, I understand your feelings, even if I think you're wrong._

_Seth-_

_No, hear me out. Leah, I think that, deep down, you're more upset that in the end you will accept this than you are that it is happening._

I stare at him. He may be right, but I don't want to admit it_._

_You really threw Jake for a loop._

I look sideways at Seth. _I thought I pushed him too far and he kicked me out of the pack. I stopped hearing his thoughts._

_No, I think in some way you hit too close for comfort. He hates vampires as much as you, but the Cullens-_

_Are different. Yeah, I've heard that before._

_Leah, they don't kill humans._

_I know, but..._

_They messed up your life, and now they're doing it again. Leah, everyone knows how you feel about being a wolf, but you are a pretty good one. Maybe you're the only girl wolf because you're the only one that would be good at this._

_Wow. Uh, thanks Seth._

_Edward said you should return. Severus was going to go after the guy that caused this to happen to Ginny. Edward talked him out of it and I guess that friend of Jasper's, Peter, will deal with the guy. _

I started to get mad; not at the idea of the person who made this happen to Ginny being killed, but at the fact that I was okay with it.

_See, Leah? Anyway, Edward said Severus could take off once they move Ginny away from here. He thinks you need to be here so he can be told._

When Seth and I got close to the house, he led me over to where he had left me some clothing. Once we each phased back to human form, we got dressed.

"Hopefully Jasper has calmed down a bit," Seth said to me.

"You weren't there when Carlisle started to close her up," I replied.

"Jake said this is worse."

As we enter, there is a rush happening in the house. Everyone is moving around, but Jake comes over to us. "They're flying her out to Alaska in a few minutes."

I can't make eye contact with him. I feel bad for what I said to him. We hear a helicopter extremely close.

Edward comes over as well. "You just made it back in time." Then I see Jasper come down the hall with a bundle of blankets cradled lovingly in his arms. I realize that Ginny is in them.

"The blankets are more for Severus than for Ginny," Edward explains.

Severus is following Jasper. He looks a bit better than he did before I left. He follows Jasper all the way out and we all, in turn, follow too. Rosalie is at the helicopter. She opens the door and Jasper gets in, still holding Ginny. Rose shuts the door, then backs away from the helicopter and it starts to rise into the air. We all remain there until they can no longer be seen.

Severus is the first to head in. I'm not sure what I'm going to say.

"I'll come with you to help explain," Jacob offers.

"I would like to come too," Edward says.

I glare at him and Jacob states, "Leah, if there is any misunderstanding, Edward would be helpful."

Damn it, I hate when Jake is right about them! Edward does normally let me be. I think he still holds it against me that I took Bella to task over what she was doing to Jake when she was expecting. I don't care if he didn't like it; deep down I'm sure he wasn't too happy with Jake being there. And Bella had been jerking both Jake and Edward around for long enough. It really wasn't fair to either of them.

I finally nod, agreeing to Edward joining us. We head back into the house.

"The makeshift lab," Edward informs us.

I lead the way, stopping at the doorway to watch all the little bottles fly around, wrap themselves, and then place themselves into a case.

"Severus?"

He glances up at me. "Miss Clearwater."

"I know this is not the best time, but could I- we, have a few minutes of your time?"

**Severus' POV**

I look at the young woman in front of me. I have no reason to be rude to her; she has aided myself and Doctor Cullen without question these last few days. I can tell she has a sharp mind and is quick to learn.

I nodded my reply.

The three step into the room. Besides Miss Clearwater, there's Jacob, the young man who brought a passed out Ginny home after a night of Muggle drinking, and one of the vampires; Edward is his name, I believe. I have not seen much of him.

"Forgive me for not knowing, but how much knowledge of the magic world do you have?" Leah asks cautiously.

I feel my tolerance slipping. "More than most," I reply. These two native people hang around with vampires, so I'm guessing they are not Muggles.

She gives a rare smile. "Then you know what a Shapeshifter is."

"Yes," I nod as I remember hearing about an indigenous tribe in Africa that were what Animagi were attempting to recreate magically.

Her eyebrows raise; she is surprised. "Um, kay. That's good. Now forgive me, we," she looks over at Jacob, "we are Shapeshifters, and truthfully only have our tribe's own legends to go by. How much do you know?"

"That Shapeshifters are creatures that can transform without the need of a spell."

"Do you have any other knowledge of this African tribe?" Edward asks.

"You're the mind reader Ginny told me about," I state, gazing in his direction.

He gives a smug smile and nod.

"Not a lot myself. I am sure it could be found."

"Any information you could give us access to would be good," Edward says.

I nodded. "I could have a few people contact you," I offer. The first that comes to mind is Minerva McGonagall.

"There's more," Miss Clearwater continues, "The Shapeshifters of our tribe, we do something. Once we have shifted for our first time, for no known reason, some of us imprint on a person."

I knew what the word meant in the animal kingdom, but as for a Shapeshifter, the meaning wasn't quite as clear for me. I think I had heard of it, but it was one of those long forgotten things.

"Imprinting is an unconditional bond to one person for the rest of their life. When it happens, the experience is described as being gravitationally pulled towards that person while a glowing heat fills them; the connections of everything else become severed, or simply secondary, and only the imprintee is left to matter. This leaves the shapeshifter with a deep need to do anything to please and protect the person," Edward explains.

I am not sure why they are explaining this to me.

"You see Severus, I am a Shapeshifter and I have imprinted on you," Miss Clearwater admits. I could tell she's fearful of my reaction.

"Miss Clearwater,-"

"Leah," she gently corrects.

"Leah, this is not the best time. I need some time to deal with everything else that has taken place," I say, trying to dismiss the group.

Leah and Edward catch on and leave the room. Jacob, however, remains.

"You can't just refuse her like that!" he says hotly.

He reminds me of Harry Potter. Oh, the pushiness of the young man!

"Do you understand the pain you will put her through?"

I'm tired, I'm stressed, I have been to hell and back, and I just watched my daughter react to the venom of a vampire as her transformation started. I do not have the energy or strength to deal with this! "No, I don't. I need sleep, and then once I have done some research on this, I will speak to Miss Clearwater."

He seems to know better than to push me, making me wonder what Ginny has told them about me. He then leaves.

Just as I am finishing packing up my stuff, there is a clearing of a throat. I turn and see Esme. She is holding a container.

"How are you holding up?" she asks.

I do like this woman; she is very kind. I understand why Ginny chose her to raise Elizabeth. "I feel like my world has been flipped on its side."

She smiles warmly at me. "I packed up some food for you. I thought you might not feel like cooking once you got home." She extends her hand with the container.

"Thank you," I say as I take it from her. Other than Ginny and Lily, no one has ever shown concern like this for me.

"You know, Ginny told us very little about you. I think I knew the most, other than maybe Jasper. Anyway, I can only guess what you are thinking about Leah and the imprinting. I just wanted to tell you, from what I have seen of it. it is one of the most beautiful, honest, and pure things."

"What would you know of this?" I ask her.

She smiles at me. "I have seen it firsthand. There is a member of the family here you haven't met. Come with me and meet Renesmee."

I am tired and stressed, but follow her. We make our way upstairs and down a hall. Esme stops with her hand on the doorknob.

She looks very worried at this point. "I must tell you, your first thought will most likely be wrong. Please have an open mind."

I am a reasonable man, for the most part. "An open mind," I vow.

She opens the door and in the room there is Jacob with a young girl who looks to be seven or eight. She doesn't look quite human and it takes a second or two before I realize I am expected to think she is an immortal child.

"If she is not an immortal child, what is she?" I ask.

Esme smiles at me. "You are more willing to understand than most. Renesmee, come meet Ginny's father."

She comes over to me and, once close enough to touch me, she raises her hand up to my face.

Esme explains, "This is her way of introducing herself to new people. Let her touch your cheek."

I squat down to the girl and she touches my cheek. Her hand is very warm to the touch. I then see many images from this child's life and her growth. The most concerning is when I see the Volturi coming. There is a large grouping on both sides, including wolves which I am guessing are Leah's pack. Then I see the Volturi leaving.

She even shows me some images of Ginny. She then breaks contact with me.

I smile at her. "Thank you, Nessie." I get the feeling from what she showed me she liked that name more. I look at Esme. "A hybrid? Was she planned?"

"No, she was an unexpected blessing."

"Why did you show her to me?"

"Jacob was very close to Bella, but he is a mortal enemy of vampires. Their tribe's Shapeshift only happens when vampires are near. Jacob imprinted on Renesmee, and we are all family now. You see, he is whatever she needs him to be."

I nodded. "I saw the Volturi," I inform her.

"Yes, they had been misinformed and thought Renesmee was an immortal child. You know of them?"

"Yes. Voldemort wanted them to join him in our war. Aro refused, for an unknown reason."

"Ginny told me you were a spy during your war. Did you meet Aro?"

"No, I personally couldn't risk Aro seeing my mind. The Dark Lord was unaware of Aro's gift when he personally met with him."

She nodded.

"I need to be leaving," I explained.

"I understand, but I meant what I said to Ginny. You are welcome to spend time with Elizabeth any time you want... I do expect you back here soon!" she ordered.

I find that I'm comfortable around the woman, and I see how Ginny felt she would be a good choice to raise Elizabeth. In fact, I think in some ways she is the type of mother I imagined Lily would have been. Maybe that's why I like her.


	38. Leah's Big Adventure

**Chapter six of Part two**

**Leah's Big Adventure**

**Severus' POV**

Once home, I checked the time. It was still a reasonable hour back in the UK, so I headed over to my fireplace and placed a Floo call. "Minerva McGonagall," I said, placing my head in the fire.

After a second or two, she appeared. "Severus!" She seemed surprised.

"I know it's getting late, but I have a few questions. I felt it would be faster to ask the woman considered an expert on the subject."

She got a smug look on her face. "Of course, Severus. What can I help you with?"

"It's in regard to Shapeshifters." She looked surprised at the subject matter. "From what you know, have you ever heard anything about them imprinting?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Shapeshifters are all believed to have one human that they will imprint on. However, not all Shapeshifters do imprint. The thought is that it's possible that their imprintee could have died, or that they simply haven't met. It does affect them because once they know of imprinting, they are afraid to get close to anyone for fear of hurting that person, if and when they do imprint."

"What exactly does imprinting mean?" I ask.

"Imprinting is like a bond; the imprintor is anything the imprintee needs, like a friend. Most times they become mates once both are mature enough. Imprinting is almost like the effects of a strong love potion; however, the feelings are real. In all tribes that have Shapeshifters, it seems to be the highest law that you cannot kill the Shapeshifter's imprintee because the pain from the loss would be so great it would kill the Shapeshifter. It is believed they cannot go a day without being near their imprintee." She paused, "Why?"

I pondered telling her then. I knew I had to return to England to tell the Weasleys that Ginny has been changed. I felt it was something that needed to be done face to face. I'm not a man without a heart; I wouldn't intentionally cause Miss Clearwater pain. If she can accept that I don't need a lover and can take another role in my life, I will not refuse her. I got the feeling that she and Jacob had very little information on Shapeshifters. "Minerva, I will be returning to England in the morning. I will be joined by Miss Leah Clearwater. Would you like to meet with a live Shapeshifter?"

"A living Shapeshifter? I have never met one personally! Are you sure? How did you meet? They are normally a highly guarded secret!"

"As you know, Ginevra Weasley had been staying with me here."

"Yes. Molly is so excited that Ginevra is getting married!"

"Did Molly tell you about the man Ginny is marrying?" I ask.

"No, why?" she asked. "Was Ginny imprinted on?"

"No. It would seem she has continued her natural attraction to men who are not good for her."

"Severus, what do you mean?"

"Jasper, Ginevra's young man, is an unusual vampire."

Poor Minerva! She looked as horrified as I felt once I realized that Jasper was an extremely deadly vampire. "A vampire? Severus, I thought you were going to look out for the girl!" she scolded me.

"I did a poor job, Minerva. What I am about to tell you, I ask that you don't say a word until I have spoken with the Weasleys."

"What is it, Severus?"

"This family of vampires doesn't feed on humans; instead, they feed on animals. The Weasleys already know this. Now, the other day Ginny was alone when she was raped, beaten, and left for dead. Even between Muggle medicine and magic healing, there was no hope for her. I tried my best." I realized I had tears running down my face. "The only hope for Ginny was to be transformed into a vampire." I am sure I could have knocked her over with a feather at this point. "I am returning to inform the Weasleys of this. Anyway, these vampires know a group of Shapeshifters and that's how I am bringing you one."

"What time will you be here? First thing in the morning?" She now looked truly shaken.

"You are seven hours ahead of us. I would think you will still be able to teach all of your classes for the day. See you tomorrow." I then broke the connection.

It was hard to fall asleep because so much had happened today. Ginevra was proud to be my daughter. That was more than I could have ever hoped for. I know she will at some point be upset with me for not telling her sooner, but I would have to go a year without dealing with the face to face of that. That is, most likely, a good thing.

I wondered if Lily was upset with me. Ginny was so close to joining her on the other side, but I was selfish. I couldn't bear the idea of losing her, but I keep telling myself that Lily had Ginny to herself for nine whole months. There was also the fact that for the first time ever, Ginny was so very happy. No, I did what was right for Ginny; it wasn't about Lily or myself, or even her other parents.

She doesn't want to tell the Weaselys and possibly hurt them. I can respect that; they believe her to be theirs and have done so much for her. Molly even killed to protect Ginevra from Bellatrix. They have raised Ginevra to be a young woman to be proud of. I do feel I owe them a great deal.

Then there is this imprinting that Miss Clearwater has done. I believe what Minerva said about it, but how could I ever care for someone like I did for Lily? I hope what I can offer the young woman will be enough for her. I'm not sure why they are so unaware of who, or what, they are, but that's why I was willing to take her to meet Minvera.

Esme had given me her number so that I could call when I wanted to see Elizabeth. In the morning, I will call her and get Miss Clearwater's number. If what Minerva said is right, Miss Clearwater will be willing to accompany me to the UK in the morning.

Morning arrived long before I had gotten enough sleep, but I knew I could no longer put off speaking with the Weaselys. The first thing I did was call Esme and get Miss Clearwater's phone number.

"Hello?" her voice questioned.

"Miss Clearwater? Severus Snape here."

"Oh, hi."

"Miss Clearwater, I have looked into things and I feel we need to talk."

"Of course. Where would you like to meet; a coffee shop?" she offered.

"I think this might be a better conversation done in private. Would you be willing to come to my apartment?"

She arrived pretty quickly.

**Leah's POV**

I was surprised he called so quickly, but it was a good surprise! I put a lot of effort into how I looked, without looking overdone, before heading over. I don't ever recall being as nervous as I was as I waited to be let in. This could be a total bust for me.

When he opened the door, he did not smile. This filled me with dread.

"Miss Clearwater, please come in," he invited. As I removed my shoes, he offered, "I just made some tea; would you like a cup?"

"Yes, please. That would be nice."

Once we sat down at his dining table, he carefully began, "Miss Clearwater-"

"Leah," I offered again.

"Leah, I have looked into imprinting, and I now have a fuller understanding of it."

"That's good," I carefully say.

"I am going to be honest with you. While most may say otherwise, I am not without a heart. This is, for you, something you have no control over." He paused, "Leah, I do not need a lover, and I can't now, or ever, offer you that, but I will not cause you pain. If you can accept the fact that I am not a people person and I don't make friends easily, I will allow you be around me on a daily basis."

I wasn't sure what he was offering, and I don't even think he was. "Um, okay."

"I have to go back to England today to tell Ginny's parents about what has happened."

"I thought you were her father?" I asked, confused.

He sighed. "It's long story. I meant her adoptive parents. I will explain it all in time; however, today is not that day. I would like to offer you the chance to join me, for I know a woman who would love to meet you."

"Why?" I carefully ask.

"Because she is considered an expert in our world on Shapeshifters."

"Um ok," Maybe she could have some answers to some questions we have had for a long time. "As far as my imprinting goes, I'm not totally sure what you mean."

He looked a little annoyed. "I mean, we will play it by ear. We will figure out what happens as we go."

If this was all he could offer, I had to take it. "So when do we leave?"

"Now."

"Now? Wait, I don't have my passport or clothing!" Or extra money for a plane ticket!

"We will go by Apparation and will be back tonight."

"Apparation?" I question.

He looks annoyed. "A magical way of getting from one place to another."

"Oh, right," I reply. How could he be pissed at me for not knowing this?

"There is one thing; no one there is aware that Ginevra is my daughter. She and I agreed it should stay that way. Are you ready? We may as well go now."

How could I be ready when I don't even know what Apparation is? "Um, yes, I guess." Once I slipped on my shoes, I asked, "What do I do?"

He rose an eyebrow at me. "You do nothing other than hold on." He offered me his arm.

I gingerly reached out and placed my hand at the apex of his arm. I looked up at his face and looked into his eyes.

"Most people vomit their first time," he warned.

In a flash, I felt as if I was being sucked through a very thin and very long straw that was made of rubber. When we landed(?), I fell to the ground and fought to not throw up.

As I swallowed down the warm running saliva, I felt Severus touch my shoulder. "Miss Clearwater, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just-" I closed my eyes and started to help myself up. "-didn't expect it to be that intense."

Once I was halfway up, I opened my eyes. Behind a set of large gates stood a grand building. It took a second to realize it was a castle.

"Good, you can see it. I was a bit concerned."

"I can see it?" I asked, probably looking too surprised at this.

He took a deep breath as if trying to calm himself. "Muggles can't see Hogwarts," he explained.

"Hogwarts, the castle?"

"Hogwarts, the School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, is yes, a castle."

"It's beautiful," I said, dusting myself off.

Severus was opening the main gate. "It has looked better. It is still undergoing repairs for the damage the war caused," he explained.

"War?" I questioned. I realized how dumb I must sound, but this is all so new and unbelievable to me.

"You really know nothing, do you?"

"How could I possibly know anything of this?" I fired back at him.

"Do you or do you not have magic in your blood?" he heatedly retorted.

"You call being some freak of nature 'magic'? I call it a major fuck up of my life! If you think I like shifting into a wolf whenever I get mad, you have another thing coming!" I could feel myself getting too mad and if I didn't calm down I would phase. I took a couple of deep breaths and tried to centre myself.

"Self-pity is not very becoming," he snipped at me.

Part of me wanted to continue to fight with him. He has no clue what my life has been like. I bit my tongue, though. "Are we heading to the castle?" I asked, trying to remain calm.

We both seemed to realize that we were better off not talking. So we walked up to the castle in total silence.

As the main doors opened magically for us, Severus began speaking again. "Hogwarts was founded in 990 AD. The castle was built in 993 AD. A couple of the more visually impressive features are the moving staircase and the enchanted ceiling in the Great Hall, as it is enchanted to mirror the outside sky. We will be heading to the Headmaster's tower."

I nod and follow as he gives me a bit of history of the castle. It seems to be a safe subject. As we walk, we are passed by many students. Most seem to know Severus and give him and I a wide amount of space. There are some whispers about him as we pass and I feel that the students' general opinion of him is he is someone they are fearful of.

We come to what seems to be a dead end in front of a stone gargoyle. "Tartan," Severus says and the gargoyle starts to spiral upward, revealing a staircase. He steps onto the stairs and I follow. The stairs move upwards and it seems cool, but at the same time it reminds me of an escalator. Made of stone, though!

When the stairs stop moving, we are in a room that is impressive. There is a large desk with a very stern looking woman sitting behind it. Her hair is all pulled back in a tight bun.

"Severus!" she exclaims. She seems happy to see him.

"Minerva," he replies coldly. Okay, maybe it's not just me. "This is the Shapesifter I told you about, Leah Clearwater. Miss Clearwater, this is Minerva McGonagall."

"You never said you were bringing me a female Shapeshifter!" The excitement in her voice was totally opposite to the way the woman looked. She reached out and shook my hand. "The higher body temperature! Oh, thank you so much for coming!" she gushed.

"Minerva, I have to go to talk to the Weasleys."

"Yes, I am sure that won't be easy."

He then turned and left, without a word to me.

I watched him until I could no longer see him.

"Oh my, you have imprinted on Severus. This won't be easy either."

I was surprised she knew. "You can tell?" I asked.

"Of course I can! I am considered an expert on Shapeshifters! The only one of this time. I have so many questions! I have never met a living Shapeshifter that was female!" she explains.

"There have been other females?" I ask.

"You are very rare, but yes, there have been others. I am sure you have so many questions as well. Shall we have some tea and talk?"

I nodded and then watch as she uses her wand and the desk is gone and replaced with a couple of comfortable chairs and a small table near the fire.

"I assume you are not the leader of your group. I have the only phone that works here at Hogwarts. You may use it to call and ask permission of your leader to tell me your tribe secrets."

I was taken back by what I had heard already, which really was nothing. "Um, I have my own phone," I said as I pulled out my cell phone.

"Most Muggle, or non-magical, technology does not work here at Hogwarts," she explained. "Here is the phone." She led me over to an old rotary dial phone that was almost a pinky grey in colour.

It took Jake all of about a second to give me the all-clear to talk with this woman.

When I rejoined her, she smiled at me. "I hope you don't mind if I take notes."

"No, that's fine," I replied.

"You're Native American, right? From somewhere in the northwestern U.S., or possibly southwest Canada?"

"I am a member of the Quileutes. Our reservation, La Push, is near Forks, Washington, U.S. How did you know?"

She smiles again at me. "I have heard rumoured legends of Shapeshifters out there over time, but it was never for sure. There were pieces of time from which there are stories, then large amounts of time with nothing."

I am surprised she has heard this. "Um, yes."

This old woman let a school-girlish, excited giggle escape, then her composure returns. "Forgive me, but Shapeshifters are so very rare! There is magic in your blood, but it is different from the magic in the blood of the students here. Witches and wizards have long admired the ability to Shapeshift. Some of us have even mastered the art of Transfiguration in order to Shapeshift ourselves."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes! I am one of a few."

"Can you pick your form?" Now I felt as intrigued as she was!

"No, our form seems connected to personality traits. I, myself, take the form of a house cat. What form does you tribe take?"

"We take the form of wolves."

"Wolves? Hmm, that makes this more difficult," she says, concerned.

"How so?" I ask, unsure of what she means.

"With Severus, in his youth he had a close call with a werewolf."

"Yes, I heard he had issues with werewolves," I state.

"Honestly, most people do unless they have had their beliefs proven otherwise."

"Do you have any more information on female Shapeshifters?"

She nodded as she swallowed her sip of tea. "They are very rare, as I said. Firenze says the stars have to align just right for a female Shapeshifter to be."

"How so?" I push.

She gave me an understanding look. "Firenze is a centaur, and they speak in what we would call riddles most times. He says that the shifting gene would have to be VERY strong in your family, coming from more than one ancestor. I could guess on a great number of things here, but they would be only guesses."

"Have you heard of any female shifters having children?" I ask earnestly.

"Your period has stopped, hasn't it?"

"Yes," I admit.

"It will start again once you stop shifting. Then, once you become pregnant, your body will not shift until after the baby arrives. Your child, or children, will be shifters themselves, and it is vital that they have children. Their genes will be the strongest with the shifting gene."

I had never thought about this! I had worried about not having children, but did I want to pass this on to my children? Did I want them to have to live with this?


End file.
